


Dancing On Glass

by youcarrymeaway



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Dance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Interviews, Miscommunication, Pining, Reality TV, Social Media, Trust Issues, UST, YouTube, barely any angst, it’s just an excuse for Ben and Rey to stare into each other’s eyes a lot, stigmas about dance and masculinity, the knights of ren as a dance troupe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 09:47:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 32,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24967696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youcarrymeaway/pseuds/youcarrymeaway
Summary: Being thrown into an uncertain situation is hardly new for Rey Johnson. Her whole life in foster care was just that, and so was her sudden rise to fame as a YouTube personality. But joining a reality show where she has to learn to ballroom dance might just be the strangest situation she’s found herself in yet.Particularly the part where she has to fabricate a romance with her extremely hot dance partner, Kylo Ren.(a dancing with the stars/strictly come dancing au)
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, background Finn/Poe, background Hux/Rose - Relationship
Comments: 12
Kudos: 20





	1. week zero

**Author's Note:**

> Two important disclaimers:
> 
> 1) I don’t know a single thing about ballroom dance. Like, nothing. So if you do, I sincerely apologize for the inaccuracies.
> 
> 2) this is my first fic and it’s unbeta’d. I’d really love your feedback, but please please be gentle with me I am a fragile bb🥺

Rey was driving back to her Los Angeles apartment after grabbing some takeout for dinner when she first got the call. 

“They want me to _what?”_ Rey spluttered. 

“Dance, Rey,” her manager, Luke Skywalker, said, unperturbed by her apparent shock at the proposal. “It’s a really incredible opportunity to expand your reach, and could lead to some great future opportunities—” 

“Yes, I understand, but…” Rey shook her head, vigorously. “ _Me?_ Dancing?” 

She could practically hear Luke’s patented eye roll. “Is that really so unbelievable? You can move to a beat in time, that’s really the only requirement that there is for the purposes of the show.” 

The show in question was _Dancing L.A._ , a reality dance competition that paired celebrities with professional dancers to perform weekly routines on live television. Each week the team would perform a different dance style, and one couple would be eliminated every episode until the tenth and final one. It had been on TV for years and was an American favorite. 

Rey pursed her lips in annoyance. She was loath to admit it, but Luke definitely had a point. It wasn’t like that show required stellar talent to join. She’d seen some celebrities who truly did not possess even a hint of rhythm make an attempt. 

Her voice softened as she asked, “They really asked for me specifically?” 

“Yeah, they called me personally.” Luke said, pleased. “My guess is they’re looking to pull in some younger viewers, and you’re just the girl to help them do it.” 

Rey heaved a sigh. “Luke, I don’t know…” 

“This isn’t just about a dancing television show, Rey. This is about what you want to be doing for the rest of your life.” His voice was gentler now. It reminded her of when they had first met; before her career became his, too. “I know how much you love your YouTube channel, but is that really the only thing you want to do for the rest of your life? Doing this show could mean everything for you.”

She knew, deep down, that he was right. That as much as she loved her current life, it would be a good idea for her to plan for the future. To explore her options beyond where she was now, and allow for new things to come. 

But taking the leap was harder than it seemed. Especially when it came in the form of potential public humiliation. 

“Rey?” 

She was startled out of her musings. “I’m here,” she responded distantly. 

“Are you in?” 

She had a moment of indecision, fear making her tongue heavy and the words difficult to speak. 

Finally, she took a deep breath and jumped. 

“Yes,” she said, as firmly as she could possibly manage. “I’ll do it.” 

* * *

It had been about two years since her life had begun to spiral into the strange new reality she currently lived in. She had been living in a small town in New Mexico, working at an auto repair shop during the day and a nearby bar at night. Even with two jobs, she had struggled to cover her bills. She hadn’t had many friends, and it had been hard to not fall into a deep depression. 

Then one day, she had found an older model digital camera in a pawn shop and decided on a whim to start making videos. It wasn’t much; it was just an opportunity to be creative. To sit in front of a camera and talk about what kind of advice she would give to people in specific situations. When you were bullied in school, what was the best way to react? What were some ways to go out and have fun without any money? 

While she had kept a positive face overall, because she didn’t want anyone to pity her or her circumstances, she also didn’t sugercoat the hard realities. Her videos were honest and relatable, but never hopeless. 

Slowly, she had begun to gain a following, mostly made up of teenagers. They often related to her struggles, or were seeking a mentor when they didn’t have one in their real life to help them out. 

With her new followers, Rey had begun to branch out from just doing advice videos, and began to show other parts of her life. She made videos explaining how to fix common problems with home appliances. She talked to the camera as she baked a cake or made dinner, and shared the mishaps and hilarity that would ensue from her cooking attempts. She explained beauty tips for those who were on a budget. 

She still had to work tirelessly at her jobs, but she no longer felt as desolate or stunted as she once had. She was doing something that was helping other people, and she had felt accomplished about that. 

Then, one day about a year ago, Rey’s video answering foster kids’ questions was reposted on a popular Twitter page for inspirational content. Suddenly, her follower count was going up, other creators were asking if she wanted to make a video with them, and she received an email from one Luke Skywalker. 

From there it had been a whirlwind of gaining a manager, updating her social media accounts, and getting ready to move to Los Angeles, where access to Luke and other creators would be much easier. The amount of huge changes all at once had made her uneasy, but having the ability to quit her two jobs to focus on the one thing she really loved was too good an offer to pass up. 

She currently had five million subscribers on YouTube. There wasn’t a day that went by where she didn’t feel a little overwhelmed just thinking about the sheer insanity of it all. 

* * *

By the time she arrived back at her apartment, she had begun to come to terms with the decision she’d just made, and the anxiety was beginning to return in full force. Rey did her best to shove it down, into a place where she didn’t have to think about it. 

“Finn?” She called out as she closed the front door behind her. 

“Yeah?” Her roommate’s voice came faintly from his room down the hall. 

“Could you come out here for a second? I have something I gotta tell you…” Rey called back, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth as she pictured how Finn would react to this bit of news. He was a huge _Dancing L.A._ fan. 

She had met Finn when she was fourteen years old, in one of her many foster homes. However, unlike most other foster sibling experiences she’d had, she and Finn had managed to bond over their similar temperaments and pasts, and a year and a half later, when Rey was once again transferred, she and Finn had managed to stay in touch. He had ended up going to college in L.A. to study film production, and was currently working as an assistant sound designer for a production company. When Rey’s channel had blown up and she had needed to move, he was the first person she called. They’d been rooming together ever since. 

Finn stumbled out of his room then, a white button-down shirt that contrasted nicely with his dark skin haphazardly thrown on, with an old pair of sweatpants completing the look. 

Rey blinked at him. “Well that’s… quite an outfit.” 

Finn glared at her, disgruntled. “Oh shut up. I’m trying on shirts for tonight. Obviously I’m not _actually_ going to wear this.” He gestured to his entire appearance.

Rey slid down onto their worn old couch and slumped into its frame, setting her bag of takeout on the floor beside her. They’d found it at the end of someone’s driveway and had taken it before it could be thrown out. “What’s tonight, exactly?” 

Finn huffed slightly. “Tinder date.” 

She nodded in understanding, her eyebrows raising teasingly. “Ah, so I’ll need to use my earplugs tonight. Got it.” 

He groaned. Crossing his arms over his chest, he muttered, “It was one time.” Sitting down next to her, he fixed her with a look. “Alright, what’s so important that you had to tell me right this very second?” 

Rey didn’t waste any time teasing him. “I’m going to be on the next season of _Dancing L.A.“_

For a moment, Finn just stared blankly at her without responding. Then, slowly, his jaw dropped open. “Holy shit. Holy _shit._ Are you serious?” His eyes had gotten wide and he was now practically bouncing, a grin splitting his face. 

“Yep. Luke called and told me about the offer, and I said yes.” Rey shrugged noncommittally, as if it wasn’t a big deal. However, Finn’s excitement was contagious, and she couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of excitement as she returned his enthusiastic grin. 

Luke had been right. This would be huge for her. 

Finn had jumped up from the couch and could not stop pacing and excitedly talking about what Rey would be like on the show, the dances she’ll have to do…

“I wonder who they’ll partner you up with.” Finn continued to muse aloud. “Armitage Hux won last season, maybe you and he could be a good fit—” 

Rey shoved him playfully. “Finn, slow down. There’s no point in speculating, since I don’t get a say in it anyway. The producers will pick for me. Also, don’t you have some big date to get ready for?” 

Finn stopped his movement and groaned. “God, you’re right.” He began to walk towards his room, but paused at the hallway’s entrance. He turned back to her. “By the way,” he said, his voice quieter, “I’m so proud of you, Rey, and I know you’re going to do really great.” With that, he disappeared back into his room. 

Rey smiled at his retreating form, and dig into her dinner with gusto.

As she wandered back towards her own room to begin getting ready for bed later that evening, she couldn’t help but wonder about Finn’s babbling. She had seen the show before, of course, but she certainly had not been invested in any of the events that occurred. She could barely even name any of the types of dances they performed off the top of her head. 

She felt uncomfortable about watching others perform when she knew it would be her turn soon, but she couldn’t go into the show without knowing at least a _little_ about the expectations, could she? 

The rest of her night was unintentionally spent watching popular clips from the show online. Her TouTube watch history was now filled with elegantly dressed pairs of men and women creating art through dance styles from all over the world. 

As the clock ticked past one in the morning and her eyes began to droop from her lack of sleep, Rey began to consider what exactly she had just gotten herself into. 

* * *

While _Dancing L.A._ was a dance competition show, it was also very firmly a reality show. Rey knew this to be the case when she agreed to join, but she was not expecting this aspect of the show to rear its head before she was even officially on it. 

Instead of letting the participants know who their partner was through email or a social media blitz, the producers had decided that they would meet live on television, so that the audience found out at the exact same time as the celebrities, and their reactions would be captured in real time. 

It felt like a particularly cruel move, in her opinion. 

Rey sat in her designated dressing room at _The Morning Show’s_ studio, where in about twenty minutes she would meet her partner for the first time. While the entire country watched. 

But before she could talk to the country, she had to finish talking to her own audience. 

“I’m like, kind of freaking out at the moment? I don’t know, it’ll probably be fine.” Rey smiled brightly up at the selfie camera she used to record vlog videos with. “I’ll see you guys after and let you know how I feel once it’s all over.” She blew the camera a kiss before turning it off and slumping back into her seat. 

Luke shot her an amused look from the chair where he sat in the corner of the room. “Are you going to make your new partner say hi to your channel right after you meet them?”

Rey scowled. “God, no. You know I hate that kind of thing.” 

Vlogging wasn’t Rey’s favorite form of video to make. She much preferred her advice series, or baking, or giving beauty tips. 

Really anything but vlogging. 

But she knew her fans enjoyed getting to experience her life, and she definitely understood that desire. The Rey of a decade ago would have loved to witness the ins and outs of a successful person’s life, just to feel like that could somehow be achievable for her someday. 

But she hated the way it demanded her to give away her privacy. Her right to live some of her life without an audience. And she hated the way it made other people in public uncomfortable. She certainly wasn’t particularly comfortable when people took videos of her without her permission. 

So she mostly stuck to vlogging at important or noteworthy events, and tried to keep her daily life separate from her public one. 

Luke raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Got it. Just saying, it would’ve been some pretty good content.” 

Rey did not dignify her manager with a response. 

A crew member rapped their knuckles on the door. “Show time in five,” they announced. With a flourish, they disappeared. 

Rey stood up. For the broadcast, she had worn a bright floral skirt that fell to mid-thigh, paired with a black crop top, allowing for a sliver of her abdomen to peek out. Her hair had been left in loose waves, and her makeup was subtle, with the exception of her bright red lips. 

“Ready?” Luke asked. 

She took a deep breath. “Guess I’d better be.” 

* * *

The lights on the stage were overwhelmingly bright, and the live audience was packed in as tightly as possible, straining against one another to catch a glimpse of the show’s guests. The noise was deafening. 

The show’s hosts welcomed the audience as the broadcast officially began. They would announce the celebrity first, who would enter the stage from the left. They would talk briefly about their career and their feelings on joining the show. Their partner would then be announced, and the professional dancer would enter from the right of the stage. Rey knew she would be announced closer to the end than the beginning, and she greatly appreciated the extra time to calm her spiking nerves. 

_Just breathe._

The show began with a flourish, as the host excitedly explained to the audience how the reveals would work. 

Rey spotted Finn sitting in one of the front rows of the audience, and felt herself relax slightly. The recognition of a familiar face was immediately soothing to her frayed nerves. 

One by one, celebrities were introduced to the crowd, and then presented their dance partners. Armitage Hux, last season’s winner, was paired with gorgeous model and activist Rose Tico. Sports star Snap Wexley was paired with an incredibly tall blonde known as Phasma. Renowned actor Poe Dameron was partnered with a dancer by the name of Zorri Bliss. 

Finally, it was time for Rey to be announced. 

The blonde host turned a bright grin towards the cameras. “Next up, we have a Youtube influencer named Rey Johnson!” 

Rey internally winced at the term _influencer_ as she walked out on stage, the crowd cheering wildly; the younger members of the crowd were particularly boisterous with their shrieks of joy.

“Rey has over five million subscribers on YouTube and is best known for her channel’s advice series! How are you feeling about joining the cast, Rey?” 

Rey smiled politely at the anchor, trying her best not to anxiously fidget with her clothes or blink too rapidly from the stage’s incredibly bright lights. “I’m a little nervous, frankly, because I’ve never done anything like this before. But I am going to try my best and I very much think it’ll be a good experience for me,”

The woman beamed. “Awesome! Are you guys ready to meet her partner?” 

The crowd roared. Rey used the arm of the couch she stood beside to steady herself. 

“Rey Johnson will be dancing with…” The host pulled out a piece of paper from an envelope. “Kylo Ren!”

The crowd’s enthusiasm exploded. Rey held her breath, as there was a long moment where no one appeared at the opposite door.

Then, the man in question walked out the door, headed towards her. 

_Oh._

The first thing she really noticed about him was that he was tall. So, so tall. His shoulders were broad and his biceps were thick and just the thought of being held in this man’s arms for the next few weeks made her pulse quicken and her mouth go dry. His hair was dark and long, and his features were a mess of contradictions — a jaw and nose that were sharp and defined, but with soft lips and thoughtful eyes. He was wearing a dark dress shirt and black slacks, and his expression revealed absolutely nothing about what he was thinking.

He was absolutely nothing like she’d been expecting. 

Sure, she’d tried to not go into today with expectations — she’d meant what she’d said to Finn about not wanting to worry, since she had absolutely no choice in the matter — but without meaning to she had assumed some things about what her partner would look like. 

She’d been expecting him to be a bit shorter, for one. 

All of this flashed through her mind in the few seconds it took him to reach her. Like all the other couples, they were supposed to shake hands, say hi, and sit next to one another on the giant couch where other couples were already seated. 

The moment he was within arms reach of her, Rey held out her hand for him to shake. Up close, she could see clearly the warm brown of his eyes, and the air caught in her chest as their gazes connected. 

“Hi.” She managed to get out, the syllable awkward and a bit high-pitched. 

His hand closed around hers, enveloping it entirely. The contrast between their hands was stark: hers small and his large, hers tan and his pale. 

“Hey.” His voice was deep and rich. “Nice to meet you.” 

Their hands separated, and Rey followed him to sit on the couch as the hosts began to introduce the show’s next guest. 

Rey was grateful she had not been called first. There were only about five more couples after her, and while waiting her turn had been nerve-wracking, it was still preferable to sitting awkwardly in silence with her new, very attractive partner. Rey was hyper-aware of the fact that their thighs were pressed together, due to their unwitting position on the couch.

She supposed she’d have to get used to physical contact with him pretty quickly if this was going to work. 

Once all of the couples had been announced and were seated, the host turned her bright smile on the group. 

“So, dancers! Tell me what you think! How are you guys feeling about your partners?”

Poe Dameron stretched his arm out to rest it on the couch behind his partner, a lazy grin on his face. “I’m pretty stoked. Seeing as I got the best partner there is.” He turned his attention from the host to his partner Zorri. 

Everyone began to argue about why their partner was, in fact, the best. Rey felt Kylo shift next to her, his hands that had been clasped in his lap now loosely crossed over his chest. 

She noticed he didn’t make a move to say anything about his opinion of her.

The host quieted the guests, before turning to the camera to wrap the show up. “Well, thank you all for joining me this morning! I know you’ve all got a lot of hard work ahead of you, so from all of us here at _The Morning Show,_ we wish all of the _Dancing L.A._ contestants the best of luck!” 

The lights dimmed as the show went off the air, and the crowd began to disperse as they were ushered out of the studio. The couples began to stand up and walk off of the stage, murmuring more complete greetings to one another as they left to meet with managers, friends, and family. 

Rey hesitantly stood up and glanced back at Kylo, hoping he would follow her. Without a word, he got up and they began to walk off stage together. 

“Well, that was awkward,” she said, grimacing slightly. “I really wish we could’ve just met like normal human beings, but what can you do?” 

Kylo peered down at her, his eyebrows raised. “You know you’re probably still mic’d, right?” 

Rey blanched.

He turned away from her, the corner of his lip lifting slightly. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ve turned it off by now.” His eyes returned to her. “But maybe waiting a few minutes to trash talk would be wise.” 

Rey snickered. “Fair enough. You’d think I’d have a better handle on this sort of thing by now.” 

“Right.” By now, he was walking beside her instead of behind, as his long strides had easily caught up to hers. “My apologies, but what is it that you do again?” 

“Oh.” Rey opened the door to the hallway. “I make Youtube videos. Cute internet stuff.” She shrugged. “Being on TV is new for me.” 

“Ah.” By the tone of his voice, Rey could tell he did not know how to react to this information. She felt a sliver of annoyance fill her. People liked to act superior when they heard that she was “just some internet celebrity”, and rarely took the time to consider the hard work and dedication that went into making her videos. 

She was disappointed to discover that he was like that, too. 

They entered her dressing room, and Luke stood from the chair he had returned to after watching the broadcast backstage. Rey moved to the side so that Kylo could enter, and gestured with her arm towards him for Luke’s benefit. “Luke, this is my partner, Kylo Ren.” 

Kylo and Luke’s eyes met, and a strange tension bloomed in the air. Neither spoke for what felt like quite some time. 

Finally, Luke extended his hand. “Nice to meet you… Kylo, was it?” She could detect a sense of derision in his tone. 

Kylo nodded stiffly as he took her manager’s hand and gave it a quick shake. “Yeah, that’s me.” 

Rey felt puzzled by the odd interaction, but resolved to think about it later. “So,” she clapped her hands together to get their attention, “When do we start rehearsals?” 

Kylo turned his body to face her. “We’re scheduled to start on Monday. Eight in the morning until six at night.” He eyed her speculatively. “Could you tell me a little bit about your dance experience? So I can have a baseline when we start.” 

She blinked at him. “Oh, um…” She searched her memories for a response. “I… can move to a beat?” 

Kylo was remarkably good at maintaining a neutral expression, but even she could detect the slight exasperation in his eyes at her reply. 

“So none, then,” Kylo concluded.

“Is that going to be a problem?” Luke asked, challengingly. 

Kylo set his jaw, flicking his eyes over to Luke before they returned to hers. “Nope, not at all.” He turned toward the door, but hesitated before leaving. “Could you hand me your phone, Rey? I need to be able to get in contact with you.” 

Rey went to her purse and pulled out her phone. She unlocked it and handed it to him, and he took it from her with a grateful nod. 

“Don’t forget,” he spoke as he entered his number into her phone, “That there will be a camera crew at rehearsal with us.” He finished entering his information and handed her back her phone. “They’ll be there at most of the practices so that the viewers get to see the entire process.” 

Rey took her phone back from him. “More like they want to see me fall on my ass,” she grumbled. 

Luke chuckled from behind them. “Rey, you’re going to be fine.” 

The slight mirth in Kylo’s eyes faded at the reminder of Luke’s presence. “Right, well, if Luke Skywalker doesn’t need anything else from me…” He paused, looking down at Rey. They were standing close together; close enough that her shoulder brushed against his arm.

“See you Monday, Rey,” he said quietly. 

With that, he exited the room, and was gone. 

It was only as Luke drove her back to her apartment that she realized Luke had never told him his last name, and yet somehow, Kylo already knew it. 

* * *

Rey entered her apartment to see Finn sitting on the couch, clearly waiting for her to arrive. 

“You won’t believe this,” Finn said without any preamble. 

“Hello to you, too,” Rey grumbled. “What’s going on?”

“You know that date I went on last night?” Finn asked, undeterred. 

Rey squinted. “Your Tinder date? Yeah, of course I do.” 

“Well,” Finn said, “that date was with Poe Dameron.” 

Rey’s jaw dropped. “No way. Are you serious?”

Finn nodded, eyes wide. “Right? What are the chances that my best friend joins a reality show, and I immediately start dating yet another person on the exact same reality show? I feel like I’m living in a movie or something.” 

“Okay, but you guys went on one date, does that really count as ‘dating’?”

He pouted. “We really hit it off and made plans to see each other again, so I’d say yeah, it does.” 

“All right, I was just curious,” she said placatingly. 

After a moment of silence, Finn asked, more subdued, “What do you think I should do?”

Rey frowned. “What do you mean?” 

“Well, I mean, if he’s also on the show, he’s kind of your competition… I’m practically dating the enemy.” 

“Finn, it’s a reality show, it’s not life and death.”

“But it’s just been you and me for so long…”

Rey softened slightly. “Do you really like him?” 

Finn stared off into the distance for a while, before his whispered. “I really do.” 

“Then go for it, Finn. I promise I won’t be upset.” She leaned over to give him a side hug. “And I know you feel like you have to take care of me, but I can handle myself just fine. Okay?” 

He nodded. “I know you can, peanut.” He nudged her playfully. “And at the end of the day, I guess this means that my chances of having a winner this season just doubled.”

Rey laughed. 

She might not have any clue what she was getting herself into, but at least she knew she could count on Finn to be there for her, no matter what happened the next two months.


	2. week one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cha-cha.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for checking out this story; it means so much to me. If you wanna say hi, I’m on Twitter at @youcarrymeaway.

Rey entered the practice facility Monday morning with a swift gait and her chin held high. The building was located in downtown L.A., a significant distance from the studio where the live episodes would be filmed. This facility was outfitted with individual studios for each of the couples to practice in, as well as containing the offices of some of the producers. 

As nervous as she was to begin this new adventure, she knew she was doing the right thing, and was ready to take on the challenge just as she would any other. 

The night before she had posted a video to her channel that detailed her decision to join _Dancing L.A._ , which also included the footage from before and after the announcement event. So far the response from her audience had been overwhelmingly positive. Her fans were so excited for her, and could not wait to see her on the show. However, she had discovered that a large number of her fans seemed particularly upset about her assigned dance partner. 

_(replying to @thereyjohnson)_

_@revjonhson: kylo ren is such an asshole, can you BELIEVE our queen was paired with him??? she should’ve gotten someone wayyy better than him._

_(replying to @thereyjohnson)_

_@reyismysunshiine: rey honey i’m so sorry they paired you with a dick like k*lo r*n… :/_

Rey didn’t really know how to feel about these kinds of responses. Perhaps it was naive of her, but she hadn’t expected for people to react to Kylo in such a way. Sure, he was a bit intimidating, but he wasn’t an openly hateful person. At least, not from what she could tell. 

Truthfully, she hadn’t quite made up her own mind about him yet. 

Regardless, she was determined to ignore a few whiny people on the internet. She could make up her own damn mind about someone, thank you very much. 

Rey was dressed in a comfy, sky blue racerback tank top, and her favorite pair of tight black leggings. She had set her exercise bag down at the far side of their large, empty studio and was busy retying her worn sneakers when Kylo entered the room. 

He was once again wearing all black, with a fitted black T-shirt and black sweatpants. His hair was slightly more rumpled than it had been for their show appearance. Somehow, it wasn’t any less appealing. If anything, it made her think fleetingly about what it would be like to run her hands through it. 

“Good morning,” she waved to him awkwardly as she rose from her crouched position. 

He turned to look at her. “Morning,” he responded after a momentary pause. He was carrying a bag of his own, and came over to where she was standing to set it down near hers. 

Rey glanced towards the doors. “Didn’t you say there would be a camera crew here today as well?” 

Kylo glanced up at her as he rummaged through his bag, eventually pulling out a sleek black water bottle.

_Does this man own anything that isn’t black?_

“They’ll be here in a few hours. Normally they’re around right at the start, because they want to capture the first meeting, but since that’s already been taken care of, they’ll give us a few hours to work without the added pressure.” He smirked slightly as he rose to stand beside her. “Probably for the best. The initial learning process is far from exciting to watch.”

Rey huffed. “I’m just grateful no one will see my awful first impressions.” 

He raised an eyebrow at her. 

“Well, no one except you,” she amended. “But I’m pretty confident you won’t judge me, yeah?”

“It would make me a pretty shitty teacher if I were to do that.” He turned away from her and began to stride towards the center of the room. “So, you have absolutely no dance experience, correct?” 

Rey crossed her arms, feeling slightly defensive at the way the question was phrased. “Not yet. But after today I will.”

He nodded brusquely. “Right. Well, we have a lot of work to do, so I think we should get started right away. Sound good?” 

She moved closer to the center of the studio, where he was waiting, and shifted her stance into a more ready position. “Yeah, let’s do it.” 

Kylo turned his attention from her to the back wall, where a large mirror that covered the entire wall showed both their frames side by side. Rey noticed how the top of her head only just aligned with the top of his broad shoulders. 

“So, we’re going to start with the basic steps for a cha-cha.” He turned to look at her. “That’s our dance for week one, by the way.” 

“Cha-cha,” she mumbled absently, “Right, got it.” 

Kylo grunted. “Right. We want to start with our feet shoulder-length apart. It’s important to have a strong base as we’re executing each step.” 

Rey did as he instructed. 

He cleared his throat. “Now, there are four basic steps to the dance. They are the forward-step, back-step, side-step, and rock-step.”

Kylo began to demonstrate each of the four basic movements, explaining as he went, and after each motion would have Rey copy it. As she grew more comfortable with each one, he began to request them in random orders to have her demonstrate.

Fairly quickly, she was able to execute the steps with relative ease.

”You’ve mostly got the idea down, but there’s a small adjustment you need to make,” Kylo commented.

”What’s that?” she asked.

“We want to be moving on the balls of our feet. The cha-cha is a dance from Cuba, and that is where much of the inspiration for the movements come from,” Kylo explained as she tried to repeat the steps she had just attempted, but with more expression. 

“Like this?” she asked hopefully as she completed a back step followed by a rock step. 

“Yes, that’s better.” Kylo nodded with approval. 

As the lesson progressed, Rey felt herself growing more and more comfortable with moving around in the studio’s vast space. She also began to feel slightly more comfortable with Kylo’s gaze being constantly fixed on her; to forget that he was watching every step she took closely as she practiced. 

“Good, that’s it,” Kylo said as she completed another set of movements. “Now that you’ve got that down, we’re going to try it together.” 

Rey laughed nervously. “Okay, but please don’t be too mad if I step on you by accident.” 

Kylo’s lips quirked. “It’s sort of my job to let you step on me, if it comes to that.” 

She grinned, running a hand nervously over her ponytail. “Well, that’s good to keep in mind.” 

As she spoke, Kylo approached her and took her right hand gently in his. Rey’s lips parted slightly as he moved her so that their hands were clasped together, and his other palm rested on her waist. 

This she didn’t quite feel prepared for. 

“The most important thing to remember is that I will cue you for each step. You’re following my lead, so you don’t have to worry too much about forgetting the steps. Listen to your instincts.” 

His voice had gotten markedly quieter now that they were standing so close, and it felt intimate in a way she hadn’t been expecting. 

She finally found the courage to raise her eyes to his. 

His eyes were so much more dynamic than she’d first thought. They weren’t just brown; they contained a collection of warm honey tones that mixed together in a hypnotizing way. Staring into their depths, she felt as though looking away would be physically impossible. 

From far behind them, a door was noisily pushed open. 

Kylo exhaled slowly, his breath tickling her hairline. “Looks like the camera crew are here.” 

“Awesome,” she muttered, “I really needed even more pressure today.” 

Kylo released her from his hold, amusement at her dismay clear in his eyes. She wondered what his full smile would look like, and if she’d ever get to see it. 

A short, dark-haired man approached them as the group of camera operators began to set up their equipment in the corner of the room. 

“Hi, I’m Mitaka. I’m in charge of shooting for your practice sessions, so if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to talk to me about them.” The man was speaking mostly to Rey, but his eyes kept darting nervously towards Kylo’s broad form. 

Rey smiled politely at him. “Nice to meet you, Mitaka. Please try not to film _all_ of my embarrassing moments, if you can manage it.” 

Her reply brought a smile to the nervous man’s face. “Oh, we can’t promise anything, but we will try our best.” 

Kylo let out a heavy, annoyed sigh. Mitaka’s smile immediately fell off of his face, and he began to back away from the pair to rejoin his crew. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Ren, sir.”

He grunted. “You too, Mitaka.” Turning back to Rey, he questioned, “Can we get back to rehearsal, now?” 

Rey glanced apprehensively at the newly set-up cameras. “Yeah, sure.” 

To her complete shock, Kylo placed his large palm gently on her shoulder and said, more quietly, “They’re not there, okay? You have to forget they’re there. And you will. Trust me on this.”

Rey could only blink at him in surprise. Finally, she managed to get out, “Thanks, Kylo.” 

He nodded, and with that over with, he resumed his instruction of the cha-cha’s steps. 

* * *

“Remember, it’s one, two, three—” Kylo completed a spin, “—four. Got it?” 

Rey was sweating and a little out of breath as she tried once again to follow his instructions correctly. Her hair was falling out of her high ponytail and into her eyes as she attempted to emulate Kylo’s movements.

“I think so,” she said after a moment of appraisal.

Kylo moved her back into position. “Let’s try again, then.”

She had felt pretty good about her progress before they’d taken a lunch break. But now, two hours later, her opinion was swiftly changing.

See, she’d had the steps down when they were slowed down and done one at a time. But now that they were attempting to put them together and speed them up, she was struggling.

Quite extensively.

She missed a step and stumbled into Kylo.

“Sorry,” she grunted, a fierce annoyance churning in her gut. “Let’s do it again.”

She expected him to reprimand her, or readily agree to her request to start over.

But instead, he let his hands fall from her back and asked, “Why don’t we take a quick water break instead?”

Rey blinked, surprised. “Are you sure? I can go again—”

“It’s fine,” he interrupted, his features sincere. “Trust me. It’s better to take a break when you’re frustrated, and come back when you’re head’s a little clearer.”

Rey relented. “Okay.”

She took a few minutes to drink some water and take a few deep, calming breaths.

She could do this.

She stole a few glances at Kylo as she cooled down. She watched as he lifted his shirt slightly to wipe at his face. A glimpse of his toned abdomen was flashed before Rey quickly looked away, flushing.

When they resumed practicing, Rey felt a bit calmer. She still stumbled through some of the steps, but the quick break had definitely helped.

* * *

The sun was low in the sky as the two of them exited the building side-by-side, exhausted. 

In total, they had been practicing for around twelve hours. Rey hadn’t eaten since her lunch at noon, and she was positively famished. With this in mind, she was in a hurry to return to her apartment. 

As she was heading towards her car, Kylo extended his hand and gently grasped her arm. 

“Hey,” he said, his expression remaining solemn yet sincere, “You did really great today.” 

Rey’s cheeks colored slightly from his praise, as well as his unwavering gaze fixed upon her. “Oh, um, thanks Kylo.” She flashed him a smile back. “I’m… I’m really looking forward to working with you, this season.” 

He released her arm. “We should grab coffee tomorrow morning before we rehearse.” 

Her heart leapt traitorously. “Oh?” 

He slid his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants, rocking slightly on his heels. “Yeah. Might be nice to talk a little bit.” He glanced meaningfully towards the entrance to the studio. “Somewhere without tons of cameras following us around.”

“Ah,” Rey nodded in agreement. So much of their relationship would be documented; it would be nice to learn something about who he really was. “That sounds really nice. I’d love to.” 

“Good, good.” Kylo shuffled awkwardly, before nodding at her. “See you tomorrow, then.” 

Rey waved. “Bye, Kylo.”

She got in her car and began the long drive home.

By the time she reached her apartment, the toll of the long and arduous day had begun to set in, and she wanted nothing more to go to sleep as soon as physically possible.

The minute she flopped down on her couch in her apartment, exhausted, Finn was hovering next to her.

“Tell. Me. Everything.” He gestured at her impatiently. “I want to hear about every single detail. Do you suck? Is Kylo Ren a massive jerk?”

Rey groaned. “Finn, you’ll see it all this Sunday when we perform. I don’t know why I have to tell you everything this instant.” She bit her lip as she picked up the blanket on the back of the couch and played with its frayed edges. “But I mean I kind of do suck, so…” 

Finn immediately softened. “Hey, come on, I was just kidding about that. You can’t honestly expect to be amazing right away. This stuff takes time.” 

She sighed. “Rationally, in my head, I know that. But then I’ll see how well other people were doing when they were at this stage and I just… wonder if maybe I’m not cut out for this.” 

Finn slid his arm around her and pulled her close. “Peanut, relax. I know you want to do well, and your determination is so fucking admirable. Just try to be patient, okay? It’ll come in time.” 

As Finn spoke such sweet words about her, Rey began to cry quietly. She gave him a shaky smile in a bid for composure. “Thanks, Finn. It’s just all a bit overwhelming, I guess.” 

“Of course it is.” He grinned at her. “You’re on a big reality show with a rumored jerk partner.” 

Rey swatted him lightly. “He isn’t that bad. He’s just… passionate about the art. Really cares.” 

Finn quirked an eyebrow at her. “Oh, passionate, is he?” 

She rolled her eyes as she sniffled, wiping away her remaining tears. “Oh, shut up.” She smirked at him. “You know what you can do to make me feel better? Get me some of those lasagna leftovers from the other night. I’m fucking starving.” 

As Finn got up from the couch, he glanced back down at her with a hopeful grin. “Any chance you ran into Poe Dameron today?”

Rey snickered. “No, Finn, I did not see your boyfriend today. But the minute I do, I will tell him you say hi.” 

Finn laughed. “I was just asking, no need to get snippy at me.” 

She scarfed down her food while the two of them argued about the hottest actors currently in Hollywood. It was the perfect way to help her relax, and forget about the pressure that she was facing. 

She prayed that tomorrow, and their first show next week, would not end up being a complete disaster. 

* * *

Rey waited for Kylo at the coffee shop by the studio, impatiently tapping her fingers on the table she had seated herself at. 

She pulled out her phone to absently scroll through social media as she waited for him. 

Upon opening her Twitter account, she noticed that the majority of her tagged tweets now contained the phrase “reylo.”

She squinted.

Right. Of course. The portmanteau.

She wondered briefly if Kylo knew about the moniker. The idea of his reaction made a bubble of laughter rise in her throat.

A sudden shadow fell over her table, and she glanced up from her phone.

Speak of the devil. 

Kylo stood over her, holding two coffees and offering one to her. He still wore all black, with the notable exception of a worn grey ball cap on his head. 

She took the offered cup and smiled up at him in thanks. “Morning.” 

He sat down across from her. “Good morning.” He scratched behind his ear. “I, uh, didn’t know what you liked, so I just got you a latte with almond milk.” He gestured to the table. “I figured if you wanted something sweeter you could add some sugar, and I didn’t know if you drank regular milk or not, so…” 

Rey hid her smile behind her cup as she took a sip. “Wow, thanks Kylo. I’m not against drinking milk, but this works too.” 

He seemed to exhale in relief at her receptive response. “Oh, good. That’s… good. That you like your drink, I mean…” He trailed off. 

There was an awkward pause as the two of them regarded one another. 

“Was there, um,” Rey placed her drink down on the table, “Was there anything in particular you wanted to discuss, with me?” 

Kylo studied her. “Well,” he said finally, “I mostly wanted to make sure we were on the same page, about everything.” 

Rey tilted her head curiously. “Meaning?” 

“I want you to know a few things, just before we really get started,” Kylo began. “Firstly, I want to explain that my job is to make you as good as you can be.” His eyes were fixed steadily on hers, unwavering. “So if I come across as harsh, or too tough…” he shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. “It isn’t because I’m upset with you. It’s because I know you can do better. Does that make sense?” 

Rey nodded slowly. “Yeah, I think so.” She held his gaze. “But that doesn’t mean you get to tell me what to do all the time. This is a partnership. You’re not my boss.” 

He studied her thoughtfully. “That’s fair. I just… wanted to make sure you understand. I think you have a lot of potential, Rey.” 

She smiled bashfully down at her drink. “Well, thank you. I really hope I don’t let you down, Kylo.” 

Her use of his name seemed to surprise him, but he recovered quickly. “I don’t think we have to worry about that.” 

He paused, his free hand on the table curling into a fist. “There is one other thing I wanted to bring up with you.” 

Rey leaned back in her seat. “What’s that?” 

“I want to ask you about your physical boundaries.” 

Rey almost dropped her cup in surprise. “What?” she managed to squeak out. 

“There’s some particularly... intimate dances, and it’s important to have clear communication from the start,” he explained, still fiddling with his cup. 

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Rey struggled to think of what else to say. “Um… I’m fine with most things, really. I mean, it’s not like you’re touching me because…” She quickly decided to abandon that train of thought. “I mean, you’re a professional, so I’m sure you’ll be… appropriate, and everything. Right?”

Kylo looked up at her. “Yes, exactly. The main thing I wanted you to know is that you can always tell me if you’re feeling uncomfortable. At absolutely any point. I will respect that and we’ll figure out an alternative.”

Rey nodded decisively. “Good. Glad we have that settled.” 

His mouth curved. “Indeed.” 

They fell into a more comfortable period of quiet as they sipped their drinks and watched people walk by outside the cafe’s windows. 

Rey’s phone buzzed on the table, and she glanced at it to see that it was nothing more than a traffic update from her navigation app. She rolled her eyes. “You know, there isn’t much I miss about New Mexico, but not having to deal with insane traffic is definitely something I should‘ve appreciated more.” 

Kylo let out a long sigh. It was the first time that she had heard him do so that she knew for a fact he wasn’t actually particularly upset by what was occurring. “I’ll second that.” 

She considered him. “You don’t seem like the kind of person who likes living in L.A.” 

Kylo shrugged. “Well, I don’t actually live here, so…” 

Rey gaped at him. “You… don’t live here?” 

He nodded. “I stay here for the months that the show films. But the rest of the year I’m in New York.” He passed his cup between his hands, studying it. “Like you said, I’ve never really fit in with the lifestyle around here.” 

Rey studied him. She could definitely understand why he would feel this way; he didn’t seem like the kind of person who enjoyed partying and fame. Or excessively warm weather. 

“So I suppose you haven’t realized that the color black does, in fact, absorb heat and not reflect it?” She smiled innocently at him. 

Kylo gave her a sardonic smile. “It seems I haven’t.” 

She chuckled. “So what do you do them? When you’re in New York, I mean.” 

“I teach classes, mostly. I run a studio for teaching ballroom dance. Sometimes I also get offers to do other shows, but…” He shook his head decisively. “It’s just not for me.”

Rey propped her chin in her hand. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” 

They were almost done with their drinks when Rey remembered to ask the question that had been turning in her mind since they had met. “Hey, do you know my manager? It seemed like the two of you had met before or something.” 

Kylo’s eyes flew up to meet hers, a sudden blankness filling their formerly open depths. She had no idea what he was thinking. 

“He’s probably just heard of me,” he said evasively. “I do have somewhat of a reputation.”

Rey’s brow furrowed, but before she could ask him further questions he was draining the rest of his coffee and standing from his chair. 

“Ready to go?” he asked brusquely. 

Rey nodded slowly as she got up to follow him, the interaction puzzling her deeply. Maybe Luke Skywalker wasn’t a topic she should bring up with him. 

But her curiousity couldn’t help but wonder what all that had been about. 

* * *

She no longer felt like a complete idiot, which was a definite improvement. 

The constant presence of the cameras did make her feel a bit self-conscious, however. Kylo would constantly catch her glancing over at Mitaka and his crew, and would reprimand her with a single, “Eyes,” which would snap her attention back to the task at hand, and bring her gaze back to his face. 

“You’ve been doing well,” he said, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. “Now it’s time for the next step.” 

She sighed. “Well that doesn’t sound particularly promising… What’s the next step?” 

Kylo went over to his workout bag, dug around for a few seconds, before he produced her with a flourish a pair of heels. “Your new shoes.” 

Rey gaped. “Oh, hell no.” 

He smirked. “Unfortunately, yes. You’ll be performing in these, so I’d suggest we start getting you used to them.” 

She sighed mournfully. “And to think, I thought I was done looking like an idiot.” 

“Well, if I do my job right, then you won’t.” Their gazes connected as he held out the pair of shoes for her to take. “You have to trust me.” 

She took the shoes from him, their hands brushing against one another. “I do.”

“Good.”

She did, in fact, look like a gazelle learning to walk for the first hour, and at times she could tell that even Kylo was struggling to hold back his amusement.

The first time she was able to complete a section of the routine without stumbling, she let out a whoop of joy.

”Oh my God, I really thought I’d never get this,” she exclaimed breathlessly.

Kylo was giving her a lopsided smile. “What did I tell you? It just takes a little practice.”

”Yeah, practice and sheer force of will,” she jested.

* * *

One afternoon, during their lunch break, Rey decided to use their down time as an opportunity to pull out her camera and record some footage for her channel. She didn’t really need to film anything while she rehearsed; the show’s official camerapeople were capturing everything they needed for the show. But she still wanted to put together a more personal look at her journey for her followers, and anyone else who wanted to know more honest details about her experience. 

Putting something on her own channel would allow her much more control over how she was perceived than the show itself probably would. 

“It’s day five of rehearsing and every bone in my body hurts,” she whispered conspiritorially to her camera as she sat on the floor across the room from the cameras and Kylo, who were all eating either packed lunches or recently ordered takeout. “I knew this would be a ton of work, obviously, but Jesus is it painful.” She squinted her eyes playfully. “But I am getting better than I was, so it’s gonna pay off. Hopefully. But I seriously hope they don’t show the footage of me from the very first day, because that shit was—” 

“I’m surprised it took you a whole five days to start filming yourself.” 

Rey looked up, and up and up until she met Kylo Ren’s gaze. He was standing above her, and he filled her entire field of vision at this angle. 

“Well, you’ll have to meet my fans at some point,” Rey replied as primly as possible. 

He let out a long sigh, before he folded his enormous frame into a seated position beside her, their arms pressing together. “Alright, what do I say?” 

Rey bit her lip, attempting to suppress a giggle at his disgruntled expression. “Just say ‘hi’, I guess.” 

He turned his face to the camera, and said, with the most deadpan expression possible, “Hi.” 

Rey nudged his arm playfully, a grin spreading across her face. “Now, was that so bad?” 

Kylo rolled his eyes. “Yeah, whatever. I’m sure they don’t care much about what I have to say, anyway.” 

Rey frowned, switching the camera off and dropping it into her lap. “That’s not true. You’re my partner. They want to get to know you.” 

His eyes didn’t meet hers. “There’s not much to tell. I’m teaching you to dance, that’s all.” 

A sudden awkward silence fell between them, and Rey shifted so that they were no longer touching. “Right, of course. I just thought…” She shrugged. “I don’t know, forget it. Should we start practicing again?”

He cleared his throat, standing up next to her. “Sure, yeah,” 

* * *

It was Thursday, and Rey had just managed to complete the first half of their choreographed routine without slipping up when a woman in a grey pantsuit entered the studio. 

“My name is Amilyn Holdo,” she introduced herself. “I’m one of the show’s producers. It’s so good to meet you, Rey.” 

“Nice to meet you too,” Rey replied. 

“Sorry to interrupt your practice, but I was hoping that I could ask you a couple of questions in the other room.” She pointed her thumb in the direction of the studio’s exit. “It’s for the video package.” 

The video package was the collection of clips that would be compiled using the camera crew’s footage, and would be shown to the live audience and the show’s television viewers. It was generally interspersed with comments from the celebrity explaining their background or their thoughts on the week overall. Somehow Rey hadn’t put together that this would require a sit down interview from her every week. 

Rey glanced at Kylo. He seemed a bit put out by the interruption, but at her questioning glance he waved her concerns off. “Go. The sooner you finish, the sooner we can get back to work.” He glanced at Amilyn Holdo. “Don’t keep her too long, Holdo.” 

The woman in question rolled her eyes. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” 

Rey followed Holdo to the interview room, which was already set up for interviews to be held in, with lighting already in place and a camera ready and waiting. The backdrop was a solid red wall, with a stool placed in the center of the frame. Rey sat down on it gingerly. 

“So, Rey,” Holdo began from behind the camera. “Tell us about yourself.” 

Rey clasped her hands in her lap, unsure of what to do with them. She kept her gaze fixed on Holdo’s. “Well, my name is Rey Johnson, I’m twenty-two years old, and I’m from Jakku, New Mexico.” 

Holdo gave her an encouraging nod. “Talk to me about your YouTube channel.” 

Rey took a deep breath. “Well, I started it when I was… twenty years old. I was living in New Mexico, working two different jobs at the same time, and… that still wasn’t really enough, honestly.” She tried to smile, but it didn’t quite feel right. “I grew up in the foster system, so I didn’t really have any family to like, fall back on.” She paused for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. “I knew I wanted to help people that were like me. So I started making videos that would give life advice.” 

Holdo nodded. “Kind of like letters to your former self?”

Rey considered this. “In a way, yes. I wanted to make sure that no kid felt the way I had. Lost. Alone.” She faltered. “I wanted them not to feel the way… that I did, then.”

She could feel the burning sensation of oncoming tears, and swallowed hard to keep any from emerging. Most people already knew her story, and so talking about it like this -knowing that millions of people would see it - made her far more emotional than she would’ve predicted. 

Quietly, Holdo asked, “Was making videos an escape, for you?” 

“I suppose that, in a way, it was,” she replied faintly. “I didn’t like thinking about my circumstances, so I just sort of… talked about the world that I wished I could live in, instead.” 

Sensing Rey’s distress, Holdo switched the topic of conversation to a slightly lighter one. “So at what point did you know that this was something big? Something you could make a career out of?” 

Rey laughed slightly as she wiped away a few stray tears. “Oh, well that’s a fun story. I had made a series answering questions sent in by foster kids, and one of the videos got reposted onto a super popular Twitter page. It really exposed me to a lot of new people. That’s really when I started to become more well known, I think.” 

Holdo smiled. “And how did that make you feel, getting tons of people noticing you at once?” 

“I was… pretty shocked, honestly,” Rey said. “I mean… no one expects that kind of thing to happen to them, right? You can hope, but… I’d never really even considered the possibility, to be honest. So it really took me aback, when it happened.” 

“Why, in your opinion, have so many people connected with and fallen in love with what you do?” 

Rey swallowed. “Well, I mean, I try to be honest about a lot of things, and I think that people do appreciate that, somewhat.” She shrugged with a self-deprecating laugh. “But other than that, I don’t know why they like me specifically so much. Anyone could do what I do.”

She was asked a few more questions about her expectations for the show before they began to wrap up. The two men and one woman who had been operating the camera and the lights began to shut everything off, and Holdo smiled over at Rey. 

“Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, Rey,” Holdo said, ushering Rey out of her seat and towards the door. 

“Sure,” Rey replied absently. 

“For the record,” Holdo said, placing a hand on her shoulder, “I don’t think that just anyone could do what you do. You have a gift, Rey. I’m glad that you’re using it.”

She felt stunned by this proclamation, but managed to say a “thank you,” before she was back at the entrance to her studio and Holdo had disappeared. 

She felt slightly off-balance for the rest of the day. Sure, she’d thought fleetingly about why she made her videos before. She’d even done interviews where the question had been asked. But never before had she really dug this deep into just why, exactly, she’d felt the need to pick up that camera one hot New Mexico day two years ago. 

Her life was so different then it had been then, but she wasn’t sure if ultimately all that much had changed.

As hard as she tried to shake it, a part of her would always be that lonely foster kid who just wanted a home. 

* * *

Two days before the show’s first episode, Rey felt like she had almost gotten the hang of the routine they were set to perform. 

She still struggled, however, with some of the intricate details of the performance. 

“That was good, but you have to remember,” Kylo caught her around the waist as she assumed her final pose, “That you have to maintain eye contact.” His arms pulled her in closer, and Rey had to swallow hard as her eyes trailed up his sinewy, pale neck to reach his eyes. They were fixed on her intently. 

“Right,” she said faintly. “Sorry, I keep forgetting. There’s just… a lot to remember.” 

He let go of her, his hands sliding off her waist. “I know, but that’s why I’m here to remind you.” His lips twisted into a half smile. 

Rey could breathe a little bit easier now that his hands weren’t on her. “Can we try again?” 

Kylo nodded, running a hand through his sweat dampened hair. “It’s getting late, so as soon as you get it we’ll stop. It’s always—” 

“—good to end on a high note. I am aware.” Rey grinned cheekily at him. 

He grunted as he grabbed her hand in his and turned to assume their opening stance. “Smartass.” 

As they went through the routine again, Rey felt lighter than she ever had before during practice. They were beginning to form a more easy companionship, and Rey was grateful that Kylo was finally coming out of his shell a bit. 

A rush of giddiness exploded in her chest as she successfully spun under his held aloft arm. 

“—and one, two, three, four, one—” Kylo spun her towards him this time, before finishing the final count by taking her by the waist and pulling her into the dip, “—four.”

They both were panting from the exertion. Their eyes had not left one another the entire time. 

“Good,” he breathed, his exhale fanning her neck. 

Rey swallowed hard. 

Even after he pulled her back up into a standing position, she admittedly still felt a bit dizzy.

* * *

Sunday evening the sun was just beginning to set, and Rey was trying her absolute best to keep her nerves under control.

Tonight was the first episode. She would have to dance with millions of people watching her on their televisions. 

And she’d have to do it in an absolutely _tiny_ dress. 

“What do you think?” Kaydel Connix, the show’s stylist, shot her a grin in the mirror as she held up Rey’s costume for her inspection. 

“It’s… Uh…” Rey wasn’t quite sure how to respond. “It’s quite revealing.” 

Kaydel’s grin faded. “Oh. Well if it makes you uncomfortable, I guess we could…” 

“No,” Rey blurted out. “No, it’s not bad. It’s just… not what I’m used to, is all.” 

The dress was a deep red, covered in sparkling sequins and glitter. The skirt would only hit the tops of her thighs, and it was largely backless with a sweetheart neckline. 

“It was kind of inspired by the lipstick you wore on _The Morning Show._ I just saw that color on you and knew I had to use it for your first costume!” Kaydel beamed at her. 

Rey gave her a smile. “I do love that lipstick…” 

“See? Perfect match.” Kaydel turned then to assess her hair. “Now, I’m thinking we’ll pull this into a half up, half down style, what do you think?” 

Without waiting for a response, Kaydel began to arrange Rey’s hair into the style of her choosing. 

“I was told to come here for hair and makeup?” A voice asked tentatively from the doorway. “But if you’re busy I can come back…”

Rose Tico stood at the entrance, looking slightly uncertain but still smiling hesitantly. 

“No!” Kaydel exclaimed, shooting her a warm grin. “Stay. This shouldn’t take too much longer. Have a seat while I finish up with Rey.” 

Rose obeyed the command, sitting down in a plastic chair close to the room’s entrance. 

“Rey, have you met Rose yet?” Kaydel asked as she pulled a brush through her brown locks.

“No, I haven’t,” Rey replied, turning as much as her current position allowed her to smile at Rose. “Nice to meet you.” 

Rose smiled back at her, her eyes lighting up. “So good to finally meet you! I’ve actually seen a few of your videos before, what you do is honestly so cool.” 

Rey blushed. “That honestly means… everything, coming from you. I admire your work _so_ much.” 

Rose’s modelling career had been far from a traditional one. She had struggled early in her career to find organizations that would hire her, as she didn’t fit the typical model appearance. However, she persevered, and she was now one of the most well known models in the world. She had also recently started her own modelling agency to promote the hiring of more diverse models, as well as advocating for less digital alterations of bodies. 

The idea that Rey’s YouTube channel had impressed Rose Tico was unfathomable to her. 

“Aww, you’re too kind.” Rose said, blushing. 

“What are you and your partner dancing tonight?” Rey asked conversationally. 

“Hux and I are doing the tango.” Rose wrinkled her nose. “It’s a bit of an intense dance to start with, but I guess it’s nice to jump right into it. He and I are never going to be uncomfortable together again after being all up in each other’s business our very first week.” She laughed. “What about you and Kylo?” 

“Oh, we’re doing cha-cha,” Rey replied. 

“That’s cool. That dance looks so fun, I’m definitely looking forward to doing it.” 

Kaydel finished styling Rey’s hair, and instructed her to stand up. She handed her the costume and pointed to a changing curtain. 

“Get dressed back there, and then come out when you’re ready so that I can see it,” she instructed. “Rose, come sit here. I need to start your makeup.” 

The two women obeyed her instructions. Rey slipped behind the curtain and began to undress so she could slip into her costume. It was tricky to maneuver, and took some effort, but Rey finally managed to pull it all the way on. 

When she came out from behind the curtain, Kaydel beamed at her. “You look perfect, Rey! I’m so glad I picked that dress for you, it totally works.” 

Rey had to admit that she did look pretty great. The dress was designed specifically so that her legs would be free to perform the dance without any difficulty, and as a result it showed off the long expanse of her legs remarkably well. 

“I can’t see you from this angle, but I’m sure you look stunning!” Rose said from the chair as Kaydel kneeled in front of her to apply her makeup. 

Rey flushed. “Thank you, Rose. I wish I could stick around to see you get ready, but I’m think I’ll be on soon, so…” 

Kaydel waved her hand at the dorr. “Go kick some butt, Rey! You’ll do great, promise.” 

Rey laughed. “Thanks, Kaydel. I’ll see you later.” She turned to Rose. “And good luck to you, too. I’m sure you’ll be amazing.” 

“Good luck!” Rose enthused as Rey headed to her post in the backstage viewing room. 

She stood awkwardly in the corner of the room as other couples gathered together, speaking in hushed whispers about their upcoming routines. On a television screen propped against the wall, Rey could see the pair who was currently preforming on stage; it was the gorgeous pro dancer Jannah and her partner, a slightly shorter man with dark hair. Rey couldn’t quite remember his name, but she thought it might be DJ. 

Just as she was about to go looking for Kylo, she felt an arm brush up against hers. She looked up to see that it was in fact him, his gaze fixed on the current dancers on screen. 

Rey had to raise an eyebrow slightly at his attire. He was wearing dark slacks, dark dancing shoes, and a low-cut suit jacket that revealed his lack of an undershirt. Rey had to glance away quickly from the glimpse of bare flesh, lest her face turn completely and irrevocably red. 

“They’re pretty good,” Rey commented after a few more seconds of watching Jannah and her partner.

Kylo nodded thoughtfully. “They’re not bad. But he’s a little stiff. See some of his movements?” He gestured to the screen. “They don’t look natural. You can tell he isn’t comfortable with it.” 

“Well, isn’t that because he maybe, I don’t know, is new at this?” Rey quipped sarcastically. 

“His job,” Kylo refuted, unpreterbed, “is to pretend that he isn’t.”

The two finished their performance, and went to the judges to receive feedback.

The three judges did not seem particularly impressed by the duo’s performance, and each gave the couple a score of six out of ten. Rey grimaced sympathetically.

Once the two of them were finished, it was time for Kylo and Rey to take the stage. 

From backstage, they watched as the screen the audience faced flashed their faces, and began to show their video package. They interspersed the footage of Rey learning with clips from her interview, particularly the ones where she had talked about her history with foster care and the development of her channel. Every inch of her strained against the idea of admitting her weaknesses to millions of people like this, but she attempted to quell this instinct. 

_They will not think less of you. You will be fine. This is for the kids who are like you. They’ll get to see that success is possible._

With this reminder, she could breathe a little easier, and she even found herself laughing at some of the clips of her from the first two days, where she could barely remember her left foot from her right. 

Whenever her interview clips were shown, she could feel Kylo’s gaze burning into the side of her head. She resisted the urge to glance up at him.

The preview ended, and it was time for them to go. 

“And now, here’s Rey Johnson and her partner Kylo Ren, performing the cha-cha!”

Kylo escorted her to the door that would open and allow them onto the stage to begin their dance. He angled his head down so that his mouth was close to her ear. “Ready?” 

She shivered at his voice in her ear, then took a deep breath to center herself. She exhaled. “Ready.” 

In the back of her mind, Rey could recognize how insane this moment was. Hundreds of people cheering and clapping for her in the audience, while the cameras captured the broadcast for millions more. 

But the majority of her focus was spent solely on trying not to irrevocably fuck up. She refused to embarrass herself on live television like that. 

Her sweaty hand was clasped in Kylo’s as they assumed their opening position at center stage. She waited with baited breath for the music to begin, her heart thundering in her chest.

Finally, it did, and with an exhale, Rey began to dance.

_got no self control_

_and I don’t mean cigarettes and alcohol_

_‘cause when it comes to you I can’t say no_

_I don’t want a taste; I want it all_

As the first strains of the song kicked up, Rey let her body overtake her mind. They had practiced these steps so much by this point that as she moved to the music, she barely had to think consciously about what to do next. Her body just… knew.

The massive cheering crowd and the overly bright lights faded into the background of her consciousness.

Her concentration was focused entirely on him.

Kylo moved fluidly with her as the dance progressed. He grabbed her hands and subsequently released them, alternating between dancing with her and mirroring her movements beside her. Strands of his long hair frequently fell onto his forehead as he moved, only to be flung back into place a few seconds later. 

_one little kiss can turn into a thousand_

_one little touch and I’m gone..._

They spun and swung perfectly in time with both the music and one another. 

Rey kept her eyes on his the entire time. 

As they fell into their final pose, with her arms clasped around his neck and his arms cradling her in a slight dip, Rey couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face as she looked up at him. 

For the first time, Kylo returned her smile with one of his own. 

* * *

“Absolutely stunning!” Judge Canady crowed as Kylo and Rey were led to stand in front of the judges’ table. They would be rated on the technicals of the dance, as well as the style of the performance overall. 

“There were a few small issues with your frame and your lines, but overall it was a great first start,” Canady said with a decisive nod. 

The other judges made similar comments, but Rey was having difficulty focusing on their words. The high of the dance was still pulsing through her. 

“Now, let’s hear their scores!”

Rey could not move a muscle as they awaited their fate. Just because she felt good about the dance didn’t mean that the judges agreed. 

They received two eights and a seven, which placed them second overall in the competition. 

Rey couldn’t keep the grin off of her face as Kylo ushered her off the stage and back towards their dressing rooms so they could return to their normal clothing. While she was happy that the night was over and done with, she could still feel the adrenaline rushing through her veins, and she knew she would have trouble falling asleep tonight.

When they had reached a more secluded section of the hallway, Rey turned to meet Kylo’s gaze. 

“So, give it to me straight,” she said, with as much muster as possible. “How did we actually do?” 

Kylo smiled faintly down at her. “The judges aren’t liars, Rey. They’ll give you honest feedback. If you did poorly, they would have told you so.” 

Rey pressed her lips together. “I know, but I still want to know what you thought about it.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “Your opinion is more important to me, really. You’re the only one who really knows where I’m coming from, and all that. How much progress I’ve actually made.” 

He opened the door to her dressing room for her, and she thanked him with a smile. She turned to him expectantly, waiting for an answer. 

Finally, he said, in a soft rumble, “You did really great, Rey. I mean it.” 

Rey’s heart lurched slightly in her chest. 

“Thanks,” she whispered. 

With a quiet smile and a nod, Kylo turned and left her standing in the doorway, watching him walk away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song quoted in this chapter is “Self Control” by Bebe Rexha


	3. week two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The samba.

The high of their first performance was still fresh on Rey’s mind as she swept into the studio Monday afternoon. They’d been given the morning off to recuperate, but they couldn’t afford to take off any more time than that. Learning an entire dance routine in only a single week meant there was no real opportunities for rest.

Kylo sat with his back propped up against the far wall of the studio. He was absently drumming his fingers on the keyboard of an open laptop perched atop his long legs.

“Have they let you know what our next dance style is?” Rey asked curiously.

Kylo glanced up, startled, as he hadn’t seemed to notice her presence. Once he had recovered somewhat and turned back to his screen, he replied, “Yes. I’ve been working on the choreography all morning, and I’ve only got a bit left to go.”

Rey sat down next to him, curiously peering over at his screen.

He had a document open that was filled with single lines explaining various dance steps. The top of the document read in a bolded font, “Our Samba.”

“Is that what our dance is called? Samba?” She glanced up at his face.

He nodded. “It’s a Brazillian-inspired dance. Pretty upbeat and high-energy.”

“Have you picked a song yet?”

He pulled up his music library and played his selected song for her approval.

She grinned. “I like it. It sounds… fun.”

Kylo’s mouth curved. “I suspected you might.”

Rey stood up and stretched out her arms in preparation. “We ready to get started, then?”

Kylo’s eyes shot up to hers, as they had previously been located around waist level. His cheeks were a tiny bit pink as he affirmed, “Yeah, let’s go.”

He joined her in the center of the room, and he began to explain and demonstrate to her the basic steps of the samba.

“The most important movement to understand for this dance,” Kylo said, “is the bending and straightening of your knees. That bouncing motion is the defining character of the dance, and perfecting that is what we’ll spend most of our time working on.” As he spoke, he emulated the movement he was referring to, giving Rey a visual reference point.

Rey followed Kylo’s instructions, and made sure her steps were as buoyant as possible as they worked through the early steps of the routine he had created.

After about an hour of practicing, she was already beginning to feel the strain on her leg muscles the movement caused her untrained body.

“God, I am going to be feeling this tomorrow,” she bemoaned as she rubbed at her leg.

Kylo winced. “It’ll get easier. Make sure to put some ice on your knees when you get home tonight.”

Rey sarcastically saluted him. “Sir, yes sir,” she muttered.

After their lunch break, they thankfully moved beyond being zeroed in on this aspect of the dance to focus on another.

“The second most important part of this dance is that you have to think more about the movement in your hips,” he said. “Without the pelvic tilting, the samba looses a lot of what makes it unique.”

Rey felt her neck flush slightly. “How exactly do I do that?”

Kylo explained his meaning as he demonstrated the steps, his hips swiveling with ease in time with the rest of his movements.

She completed the steps, attempting to imitate him by exaggeratedly twisting her hips. “How was that?” she asked breathlessly.

Arms crossed, Kylo hummed in thought, his eyes flirting back up to meet hers. “It’s good, but it’s not quite…” he hesitated, “...sensual enough.”

Rey felt her heart sink. “Oh, I see.”

He pressed his lips together and ran a hand through his hair. “I just meant,” he fumbled, “that the samba had a very stylistic approach that is meant to be... seductive.”

Rey raised an eyebrow at him, and shifted uncomfortable.

“I’m not explaining this well,” he muttered to himself, before he moved swiftly to stand just behind her, his hands hovering near her waist. “Can I... show you?”

Rey could only nod mutely, her heart fluttering in her chest.

He placed his large hands on her waist and gently but firmly moved her so that she was facing the mirror. “Watch,” he murmured in her ear.

A frisson of heat slid down her spine at the deep timbre of his voice.

He began to move her through the steps, pressing his thumbs into her hip bones every now and again to indicate to her how she should shift them. She followed his lead, her breath growing shallower at his prolonged touch.

“That’s better,” he stated with a firm nod. “Keep that in mind. Now, try it again yourself.”

She closed her eyes, then mimicked the action she’d just been shown. She could still feel the phantom pressure of his grip on her.

“How was it this time?” she asked, opening her eyes and looking to him hopefully once she’d completed the full count.

“A lot better,” he said with approval. “My only other suggestion is that you really get into it. Feel the music. You’re performing; act like you’re really showing off.”

Rey nodded thoughtfully. “That makes sense.”

They were still set to have another two hours of practice, but Rey was beginning to feel exhausted. She admittedly hadn’t quite recovered from the stress of their first performance, and this dance was requiring a great deal of energy from her.

Kylo seemed to notice that she was beginning to fade.

“Hey,” he said, gently, after they had completed another series of positions. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? You seem like you could use it.”

She blinked, surprised. “Are you sure?”

He released the hand that had been clasped in his. “I have to go rehearse for a group dance a bit later, anyway, so we would’ve had to end early today regardless.”

Rey perked up at this information. “You’re doing a group dance?”

He sighed. “All the professionals have to get together for a lot of the shows to perform a big group number. Relieves the tension of the celebrity dancers, I guess.” He avoided her gaze. “They’re generally… themed.”

Rey couldn’t help the grin that split her face as she asked, “Oh, they’re themed huh? What’s this one’s theme?”

Kylo threw her a withering glare, but after a moment relented. “...This week is medieval themed.”

Rey’s eyes lit up and she cackled gleefully as he began walking towards the corner where his bag and laptop lay. “Oh my God, that sounds absolutely amazing, I cannot wait to see that.”

He muttered under his breath in annoyance as he began putting his laptop in his bag and zipping it up.

“Keep laughing,” he grumbled, “but don’t forget who approves all the costumes you wear each week. Be a shame if you ended up in something... embarrassing.”

Rey trotted beside him as they exited the studio. “What, are you going to put me in a mascot suit or something?”

He chuckled. “Hmm, not a bad idea. I was thinking... bedazzled.”

Rey let out a mock gasp. “You wouldn’t _dare_.”

It was strange, to be teasing and bantering like this with him. They had gotten along the first week, certainly, but something about performing together for the first time had broken a barrier, and she felt more free and open with him than she had before.

Whatever the reason, she was extremely glad for it. Having a friend to go through this with her was more than she could have possibly hoped for.

* * *

The next day, they returned to their normal, hectic schedule of learning the routine and practicing technique. However, as luck would have it, Wednesday was scheduled as a no-practice day. Unfortunately, it was by no means a vacation day. Rey and Kylo were to be spending the day in interviews, answering questions from the media that would ideally be about their dances, but would more than likely dissolve into questions about their respective personal lives.

As someone who was in the public eye, Rey had grown more accustomed to giving interviews, but had never done one with someone else by her side. While in theory having another person might take some of the pressure off of her, Kylo wasn’t exactly the talkative sort. She suspected she might end up carrying most of the weight today.

At least he had the decency to show up on time.

Five minutes before their first interview was set to begin, Kylo appeared in the publicity lounge and folded his large frame down on the couch to sit next to her.

The lounge was designed specifically for press events, and it appeared almost sterile with how clean it was. The two chairs and long couch adjacent to them looked sleek and fashionable, but ultimately provided little in the way of comfort.

Rey would choose her dingy old couch over this any of the week. These were not the kinds of couches one actually relaxed on.

For the hour or so they would be here, the two of them would get to stay in the same position, while the reporters would be cycled through. After lunch, they would be going to a studio for a radio interview, and they would end the day at a live interview that would be broadcast online.

Rey had resigned herself to the monotony of the day.

The first reporter, a woman with dark hair wearing a suit, entered the room.

She introduced herself and shook their hands. Rey and Kylo both nodded politely at her.

She began to ask them her questions.

They weren’t particularly inspired; she only wanted to know about the basics of their partnership and upcoming dance. She did not seem particularly interested in their responses, and once she was finiehed left them with a polite nod.

The rest of the reporters continued on in this fashion. Some were much more aggressive than others.

“How do you feel about your first performance last week? What’s your strategy like going into next week?” one reporter asked, his focus clearly on the specifics of their routines. Kylo took the lead on answering this one, as he was most comfortable when discussing the actual theory of dance.

“What has it been like learning to dance for the first time?” another asked. Rey took this question, as it was clearly meant for her alone. Kylo seemed all too willing to be ignored by this reporter.

“How has growing up in the foster system changed you?” One particularly bold man asked, with an entirely straight face.

Rey felt her entire body tense up at his inquiry. Her throat was suddenly extremely dry, and she subtly attempted to wipe her sweaty palms on her pants.

“She doesn’t have to answer that if she doesn’t want to,” Kylo cut in brusquely.

Rey quickly nodded in agreement. “I’d rather... not, right now.”

The reporter quickly agreed, and moved on to his final few questions. He proceeded to thank them and slink out of the room, clearly disappointed that he hadn’t gotten the scoop that he wanted. Rey gave Kylo a tiny smile in gratitude. He returned it with a nod and a slight tilt to his mouth.

Finally, there were the more invasive questions.

“Any sparks flying?” a reporter asked knowingly, leaning his body towards the two of them slightly. After noticing the confusion on Rey and Kylo’s faces, he elaborated further. “Between the two of you?”

Rey’s eyes went wide, and her heart jumped as she attempted to tamp down in the flush rising to her cheeks. She shot Kylo a helpless look, clueless on how to respond to such an inquiry.

Kylo coughed awkwardly. His cheeks were a bit red, too. “We take things very seriously,” he began, “and we pride ourselves on professionalism. So I think that’s really… where our focus is, right now.”

Rey watched the reporter write down some notes at Kylo’s answer. She doubted that he had been expecting any real kind of confession from the two of them, but he felt like he had to ask, regardless.

If Kylo’s cool indifference was anything to go by, it clearly wasn’t an issue in his opinion.

She had no idea why that made her feel a tinge of disappointment.

At the radio interview, the hosts were much more engaging, and Rey actually found herself enjoying her time spent on air, enjoying their jokes and laughing along.

“So, Rey,” one of the two male DJs asked, “Is there a lucky man or woman that comes to the shows to support you?”

“Yes, tell us,” the other one prompted with faux sincerity. “America deserves to know!”

Rey snorted inelegantly. “If you’re asking if I’m single, then the answer is yes. But for the record, that’s not an invitation.”

The two male hosts laughed uproariously, while the third female host shook her head in exasperation at their antics.

Kylo remained silent throughout this exchange, seemingly lost in thought. She caught his gaze, and for a brief moment, it almost felt like they were the only two people in the room.

“Well, it was really great to have the two of you on! Listeners can watch Rey and Kylo Sunday night on _Dancing L.A.!_ Thanks for being here, guys!””

They quickly thanked the hosts as they removed their bulky headphones. They were then hurriedly ushered into the car, and fifteen minutes later arrived at the studio where they would be streamed online.

Rey closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. This was their final interview. She just had to get through this, and then she could head home and crash in her bed. She might need to not speak to anyone for a few days, just to recalibrate her system after today.

The interviewer introduced herself to the camera genially. She then turned and started asking them questions.

They were mostly questions they’d been asked all day, so the two of them were able to fairly easily volley back answers that they had perfected.

It was similar to how they danced, in a way.

Finally, she got to a question they had not yet received.

“What’s been the best part about working together?” she asked, smiling.

Rey swallowed hard, glancing over at Kylo to see his placid expression that gave away nothing.

“I think,” she said slowly, holding her microphone tightly, “that my favorite part of working with Kylo is that he really knows how to motivate me. He challenges me to be better, but he does it in a way that fits my competitive personality. And he only pushes when he knows I can do better. He isn’t a 24/7 hardass.” She chanced another glance at Kylo to see how he was reacting to her answer.

His lips were parted in surprise.

”Plus,” she added, “He’s great at picking outfits.”

Slight exasperation returned to his features, but he shook his head in amusement.

”You’re into fashion, Kylo?” the interviewer asked enthusiastically.

Kylo paused before he said, lowly, “Only in certain situations.”

Rey fought to suppress her smile.

“What about you, then? What’s your favorite part about working with Rey?” the interviewer encouraged him.

He cleared his throat. “Rey is…” he paused, pressing a hand to his mouth in thought. “She’s incredibly driven. And honestly, I don’t really need to push her, because she pushes herself so much. I think that it’s important for me to make sure she isn’t pushing herself too much.”

Rey smiled over at him, her heart warming at his praise. Kylo certainly wasn’t an effusive person, but it was nice to know that he could, in fact, give thoughtful compliments sometimes.

* * *

As exhausted as she felt after a day of dancing, this felt about ten times worse.

They entered the car, and Rey slumped back into her seat, letting out a loud groan. “God, that was awful.”

Kylo’s lips curved up at the edges. “It was par for the course.”

“Sure, whatever,” she huffed. “I’m just so tired.”

“I thought your first complaint would be about how hungry you are,” Kylo said dryly.

As if on cue, Rey’s stomach gurgled loudly. She groaned again. “You just had to bring up food, didn’t you?”

Kylo glanced down at his watch. “We could stop somewhere and get something.” At her bewildered expression, he hastened to add, “I mean, if you wanted.”

Rey smiled. “That sounds perfect, honestly. I just wasn’t expecting you to be hungry, too. Sometimes I wonder if you’re even capable of being hungry.”

Kylo chuckled. “I do eat sometimes, and I would like for now to be one of those times.”

Rey leaned towards him, and asked in a conspiratorial whisper, “In-N-Out?”

He sighed and shook his head. “If we must.”

* * *

“For your information,” Rey announced as they were digging into their burgers and fries, “I know my own limits when we’re working, thank you very much. You don’t have to like, watch over me or something.”

Kylo seemed taken aback, before he realized she was referring to what he said during their last interview. “I didn’t mean it like that, and you know it,” he grumbled in response.

She beamed. “I do know that. I just wanted to set the record straight.”

“Noted.”

Rey picked up one of her fries, munching on it as she watched Kylo take a bite of his burger. A pleased expression crossed his generally impassive face.

“Good?” she asked smugly.

He shot her a look. “It’s a burger,” he deadpanned. “Nothing special.”

Rey gave him a mock affronted gasp. “How dare you talk about the greatest burger in the world like that?”

Kylo rolled his eyes. “It’s really not that special.” After a pause, he added reluctantly, “But it is kind of nostalgic for me, so…” He shrugged.

“Oh, right,” Rey said. “You grew up around here.”

Kylo nodded. “One of my dad’s favorites.”

“When did you move to New York?” she asked.

He avoided her gaze. She was realizing that this was a pattern - that he really, really didn’t like to talk about his past.

“Only around six years ago. Not too long,” he shrugged.

Rey raised her eyebrows. “Six years is ‘not that long’? How old are you?”

“I’m thirty-one,” he replied somewhat defensively.

“Oh,”

There was a moment of silence.

“Do you miss New York when you’re filming the show?” she asked. She was curious about where he lived; how he spent his time during the nine months he wasn’t on TV.

Kylo contemplated his burger, which looked markedly smaller in his hands than it did in hers. “A little,” he admitted. “But it’s nice to get away from the chaos and the noise and all that.”

Rey tilted her head. “Los Angeles is also very chaotic, though. Different, sure, but still chaotic.”

He shrugged. “That’s true. But the weather here is also much nicer, so…”

Rey snickered. “Now _that_ is true. No arguing about that.”

Kylo smiled faintly as he studied her. “Better weather than New Mexico, I’d wager.”

She blinked in surprise. “Oh... yes, absolutely. New Mexico is pure heat, no relief whatsoever.” After chewing another bite of her food contemplatively, she admitted quietly, “Although it wasn’t all bad.”

They fell into another comfortable silence, Kylo seeming to understand that she would rather not elaborate further. She kept stealing glances at him when she knew he wasn’t paying attention.

Her thoughts kept returning to one of their interview questions, and a burning desire to know the answer to a question possessed her to ask him. 

She attempted to seem as casual as possible as she asked, “Do you... live with anyone, in New York, or is there anyone...” She tapped at her ring finger In attempt to illustrate her point, “...that you’re seeing?”

God, she was such a mess. A giant, fumbling mess.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “No, I’m not, uh, seeing anyone.” He pressed his lips together as he fiddled with his burger. “I know it’s not really my business, but are you...?”

“Oh,” she said, surprised. “No, I’m... not. I was telling the truth, when they asked me.”

Kylo nodded. “Good.” His ears immediately flushed red, and he rushed to add, “I mean... that’s good to know.”

”Right, of course.”

Kylo took a huge bite of his meal, his face still a bit flushed.

Rey decided to change the subject. “

“I could actually use your help with something.” she ventured.

He peered across the table at her. “With what?” he asked curiously.

“I’m trying to decide on my next video, and I could use some input.”

His brow creased. “You still have to make videos?” he asked, puzzled. “But you’re so busy with the show.”

“That’s true,” Rey acknowledged. “But still, my channel is my career. And you can’t just leave it empty for two months. It has to be maintained, no matter what else I have going on.”

“And you want my help with it?” His tone was dubious.

“Sure, why not?” She pulled out her phone, where she had written a list of ideas. “You can let me know if a topic sounds interesting or not.”

He leaned back in his seat. “All right,” he agreed. “What’ve you got?”

“Let’s see.” She cleared her throat. “‘How to save on parking costs in the big city’ and ‘learning to make ice cream’ are my two top ideas right now.” She looked up to gauge his reaction.

He seemed to be genuinely contemplating these ideas, which was frankly more than she’d expected from him.

”They’re... quite different from one another. One seems much more useful than the other.”

”Sure,” she agreed, “but the ice cream is likely to be much more entertaining than a dull video on cheap parking.”

Kylo shrugged. “Well, I mean, you can do them both, can’t you?”

Rey agreed. “Yes, but I just need to pick one to do first, I suppose.”

”I think,” Kylo said, “you should do the parking one first. It’s probably less work for you to get done, and that way you have more time to focus on our practice.

While she shook her head in amusement at him giving advice that worked in his own favor, she had to admit that he made a good point.

”Well, that’s settled then,” Rey said. “I’ll work on the parking one first.” A thought occurred to her suddenly, and she perked up. “Oh! Maybe I could get Rose to do something with me…” She began to write the idea down, feeling inspired for the first time in a while. “We can talk about her experiences while I try on clothes she’s picked out for me. And it would still be promoting the show, which the producers will love...”

Kylo watched her with amusement clear in his gaze. “Glad I could assist your creativity,” he drawled.

Rey attempted to throw a fry at him, but he managed to duck it. “Oh, hush,” she muttered. “You did help, in your own way.”

“And what way is that?”

“You just… provided a good sounding board.” She sobered. “Seriously, though. Thanks for listening. I know all my YouTube stuff sounds pretty stupid to you, but I appreciate you letting me talk about it anyway.”

Before he could reply, Rey got up to throw away her trash. As she was walking away from the table, she could see a frown growing on his face.

It was a good thing she had gotten away before he could say anything snide about her channel. That would have most definitely ruined their otherwise lovely evening.

* * *

She was in the middle of her independent section of their routine when her phone started ringing loudly from where she’d left it near her bag.

“I should get that.”

Kylo threw her a distracted nod, as he was busy at his laptop working on finishing touches of their choreography.

The cameramen set down their equipment in relief. They rarely got too many breaks, so they took advantage of any and all opportunities to take a quick rest.

She answered the call. It was Luke.

“Hi, Luke,” she said. From the corner of her eye, she could see Kylo’s shoulders stiffen.

“Hey, Rey,” Luke greeted. “How’s practice going?”

“It’s going well. We’ve got most of the dance nailed down.” She grimaced. “Well, some of it, anyway.”

“That’s good. Sorry to bother you, I know this time is important, but I had some big news I wanted to share with you.”

She could practically hear the smile in his voice. “I wanted to let you know that you were just nominated for a Streamy award.”

Rey froze. “I… what?” she squeaked.

The Streamys was YouTube’s own web content award show - essentially, the internet’s Oscars. While the awards didn’t really hold much weight in the rest of the entertainment industry, it was a great honor within the community to receive one.

”You were nominated, Rey. For ‘Best Breakout Creator.’”

Rey sat down on the floor, feeling a bit overwhelmed at the news. “Wow, that’s... so amazing, I don’t know what to say...”

”It’s completely deserved,” Luke assured her proudly. “They would have been fools not to include you.”

Rey laughed giddily. “Do I... have to do anything, or...?”

“You’ll get to go to the awards show,” Luke confirmed, “with a red carpet event. There’s also a bit of money involved for the winners.”

The two of them continued to discuss logistics of the event itself, as well as ways to announce her nomination.

“Oh,” he mentioned casually, “you’ll probably want to bring Kylo as your date. To promote the show, and everything.”

Rey’s heart jumped. “That… makes sense,” she hedged. The idea of Kylo being her date to a fancy event...

It appealed to her.

After discussing a few more details with him, she said her goodbyes and hung up the phone.

“What was that about?” Kylo asked nonchalantly, looking up from his work.

Her grin returned. “I was nominated for an award,” she explained, flushing with pride.

A grin appeared on his face. “That’s amazing,” he said. She had never seen him grin with his teeth showing before, and the sight made her stomach flip.

“Thanks,” she blushed. “It’s nothing major, but I’m still proud of it. There’s an award show and everything, so it’s just nice to be included.”

They were just about to begin working again when she asked, tentatively, “Do you want to um, come to the awards show with me?”

He blinked in shock, completely taken aback by her proposal. “Do I—”

“Just because of the show,” she hastened to add. She didn’t want to give him the wrong impression. Or, more accurately, the _true_ impression. “You know, to have us together at a public event, and everything. For the show. Would really boost the buzz for our team.”

His smile dropped a bit. His voice smoothed out as he replied, “Right, of course. We can definitely do that.”

Re, relieved that he had accepted her offer, smiled gratefully back at him. “Great. I’ll send you the information later. You know, the when’s and where’s.”

He nodded curtly. “Good.”

They returned to work after that. Rey sincerely hoped he hadn’t caught on to her eagerness to go to an event with him.

How embarrassing would that be, if he knew that she sometimes daydreamed about her dance teacher like that.

* * *

The ballroom was once again packed for a night of performances on the night of week two. Every few minutes, the crowd would erupt enthusiastically as each meticulously crafted performance was completed.

Rey stood by herself near the edge of the backstage area, so that the full stage was within her view. She was waiting to watch the “Knights of Ren” group dance that Kylo was performing (and apparently starring) in shortly.

She felt a bit anxious having to wait for their turn to dance all alone, but consoled herself with the thought that she would be getting the opportunity to witness Kylo in his natural element. She very rarely got to simply observe him, without needing to worry about replicating the technical aspect of a dance he was demonstrating.

Tonight she was wearing a gauzy, royal blue dress with a halter neck and an uneven hem that displayed the top of one of her thighs nicely. She loved the way she felt moving around in it, as the fabric was light and breathable. Her hair was set in a tight bun at the base of her scalp, and this is combination with her makeup gave her a somewhat severe look.

She currently watched as Rose and her partner Hux danced together on stage.

Rey clapped and cheered as the couple fell into their final pose. A few of the other dancers nearby gave her an odd look, but Rey ignored them. Putting other contestants, particularly female ones, down instead of lifting them up seemed like an utter waste of time to her.

As the pair exited the stage, Rose came over to stand next to Rey. She was breathless and beaming.

“You guys did incredible!” Rey praised.

Rose laughed giddily. “Thanks! Honestly, that was one of the most exhilarating things I’ve ever done.”

She and Hux had been dancing contemporary, a style that included a variety of jumps and spins in the air. The two of them had made it look effortless.

Hux wandered towards the two women, and Rose turned her bright grin onto him.

“I think that was the best we’ve ever done!” she proclaimed.

Hux harrumphed. “Bloody Canady only gave us an eight. That dance was at least a nine and he damn well knows it.”

Rose shook her head playfully. “Come on, Armie, just take the win. We did good.”

Hux’s grumpy face softened slightly. “Yeah, we really did,” he muttered, bumping his shoulder into Rose’s.

Rey’s attention was taken off of the two of them as the lights in the room dimmed and the announcer began to introduce the dance troupe. The crowd cheered furiously as the music began to play. As Kylo had mentioned, the dance was based on a popular medieval-themed TV show, and the costumes and music certainly reflected that.

The line of male and female dancers were left entirely in shadow, allowing the audience to be awed by their fluid movements and graceful lines.

As dancers began to emerge out of the darkness, their shadowy figures became illuminated with spotlights.

She craned her neck to try and spot Kylo in the midst of the flood of dancers. After a moment of looking she finally spotted him,

He was dancing with Phasma, the tall blonde woman, and they moved together with such fluidity and ease it almost seemed like the two of them were one body.

The pair abruptly split apart and moved to integrate with the rest of the group, moving in formations.

Rey couldn’t take her eyes off of Kylo.

He was utterly magnificent.

He moved like he was born to do nothing but just this; he embodied the music and brought it to life.

She thought faible about how lucky she was, to get to learn from him.

His costume made Rey chuckle upon her first real glimpse. It was made to look metallic, but Rey had a sneaking suspicion that it wasn’t actually. The way he was able to move in it was far too flexible for anything that wasn’t fabric.

But as she studied him, her thoughts turned to how good he looked in his outfit. How strong and fierce.

When the dance concluded, Kylo’s fierce gaze trailed from the general direction of the audience to where Rey was standing.

She felt slightly breathless as his eyes met hers from his position onstage.

“They’re so talented,” Rose mused, breaking her reverie.

“Yeah,” she mumbled absently. “They really are.”

* * *

Kylo rejoined her soon after, and the two of them assumed their place in the holding room to wait for their turn.

”What did you think?”

She turned to look up at him. He had changed into a new outfit for their dance; one that was fairly similar to his wardrobe from last week.

”It was...” She struggles to find the right word. “...breathtaking.”

Kylo looked pleased. “I’m glad you liked it.”

”I did,” she admitted.

Their package for the week began playing, indicating they were about to go on stage.

Rey twisted her hands together. The nerves weren’t quite as bad as last time, but they were certainly still present.

The video showed a clip of their cha-cha from last week. Rey realized with a start she had never watched a clip of herself dancing before.

She looked so confident and self assured—a feeling she most certainly had not had at any point during rehearsals.

But something about the lights, the stage, the costumes…

It made her feel like she was free to be someone else. Someone brave, and confident, and sexy.

She kind of loved it.

They readied themselves to walk onto the stage.

“It’s Rey Johnson and Kylo Ren dancing the samba!” the announcer boomed.

They headed out, and Rey made sure to keep her head high, and wear a stern expression, as the spirit of the dance required.

They assumed their opening positions, and let the music guide them from there.

Rey made sure to emphasize her hip movements just as she had been continuously instructed. She even let a slight smirk curl at the corners of her lips.

She wasn’t just doing a routine anymore. She was a _performer_.

When the dance ended, Rey and Kylo were side by side with their hands clasped. They bowed as the crowd cheered.

Rey looked over at Kylo to gauge his reaction. He was already watching her, a smile tugging at his lips.

They approached the judges to have their scores presented. All three judges gave them eights, with varying degrees of compliments and suggestions for improvement. This score made Kylo and Rey’s dance the highest scoring one of the night. They remained in second overall, however.

They left the stage; Rey was grinning ear-to-ear, and even Kylo had a small smile attached to his ordinarily dour face.

Rey spotted Finn waving at them from the sidelines, and tugged on the hand still holding Kylo’s in the direction of her friend.

“Hey, I want you to meet my friend,” she said, peering hopefully up at him.

He followed her insistent lead, with only the tiniest huff at being hauled around.

“Kylo, this is my roommate, Finn,” she introduced the two men.

Kylo’s nodded a bit stiffly. “Nice to meet you.”

Finn shook Kylo’s hand. “Yeah, good to meet you too, man.” His uncertain demeaner suddenly evaporated as he turned to Rey, a wide grin overtaking his face. “You were _so_ amazing out there!” He gave her the tightest hug possible.

Rey laughed. “Thank you, Finn.”

Finn let Rey go and waved to someone she couldn’t see. “Poe!” he exclaimed, “Over here!”

Poe Dameron approached the group, his usual bright smile fixed on his face. “Finn! Is this the famous Rey I’ve heard so much about?”

“The very same.” Rey replied smoothly.

Poe clasped her shoulder and beamed. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you.” He then turned to Kylo. “And you must be the Master of the Knights of Ren, I take it?”

Kylo shot Poe a murderous glance, and Rey had to press her lips tightly together to keep herself from bursting into laughter.

“I suppose I am,” Kylo finally muttered with a roll of his eyes.

“Are you two going out to celebrate?” Rey asked Finn and Poe.

Finn glanced at Poe. “I mean, if His Highness wants…”

Poe shoved Finn lightly, grinning. “Oh, shut up.”

The two of them continued to playfully bicker as they walked away. Finn threw her a wave and a, “See you tomorrow!” before they rounded a corner and were out of sight.

“They’re dating,” she explained to Kylo, who was watching where they had gone with a slightly bewildered look.

His eyebrows shot up. “That explains… a lot.”

She laughed. “Yeah, it was a pretty crazy coincidence when my best friend went on a date with someone the day before they became my competition on a reality TV show.”

His voice lowered. “As long as he knows that you’re going to kick his ass, I don’t think we’ll have an issue.”

Rey smirked. “Oh, he does.”

They began walking in the same direction, back towards backstage.

Rey tugged at the hem of her dress. “I have to go change. This thing is nice for the dance, but honestly I feel a little exposed just standing around in it.”

His eyes trailed down. “That makes sense. I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

Rey nodded, and before she could talk herself out of it, she stood on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck in a quick hug. “Good job today,” she muttered, her voice slightly muffled by his chest, before she quickly released him and scrambled back to her dressing room.

Maybe it had been a stupid thing to do. But so what?

She’d just wanted to show him her gratitude. Nothing else.

Certainly not to experience the warm press of his body against hers, or to inhale the musky scent of him up close.

Purely a thank-you gesture. Obviously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song I envision they dance samba to is called “Por Bebajo de Tu Amor”, and the group dance is set to a song called “Dance With Dragons” by BrunuhVille


	4. week three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tango.

Rey frowned down at her bowl of cereal the next morning as Finn noisily pushed open the door to their apartment.

"Morning!" he called, smiling cheerily over at her.

Rey grunted in response, not looking up at him.

"Okay then," Finn muttered. "What's up with you?"

"It's too damn early." She said with a huff, putting a spoonful in her mouth and chewing grumpily. "You're home earlier than I expected you to be."

He sighed mournfully. "Yeah, I was hoping to stay longer, but I've got an early shift to get to at work, so I had to leave."

"I'm guessing you enjoyed your night, then?" she asked with a smirk.

Finn sat down at the table across from her. "Oh, definitely," he replied, a wide grin returning to his face. "Poe is just..."

She snorted. "I'm really not sure I want you to finish that sentence."

Finn pouted. "I was just going to say he's wonderful, but fine, shoot me down."

Rey reached over and patted his arm. "I'm just teasing. I'm glad you guys had a good time."

He blushed slightly. his smile turning softer. "Thanks, Rey."

She returned his smile, before turning back to shovel more of her breakfast into her mouth.

"So what are you and Kylo dancing this week?" Finn asked after a moment of quiet. "You know, for the Broadway theme?"

Apparently, the show was partnering with Broadway for week three, and in the spirit of that every couple was dancing to music from a theatrical production.

Rey absently pulled up the email that Kylo had sent Sunday afternoon with the information as she finished the last few bites of her cereal. "We are dancing... the tango. To _Phantom of the Opera._ "

Finn whistled. "Wow, that sounds cool. You really lucked out on that one."

"I'm pretty excited," Rey admitted. "What's Poe doing?"

"He's doing _Aladdin._ But like, not even _A Whole New World._ Just, like, _One Jump Ahead_ or something, since it's a quickstep."

She hummed sympathetically. "I mean, that's not too bad."

"Not nearly as exciting as yours though," Finn said. He nudged her with his foot knowingly. "'Phantom' should be perfect for you. Your partner fits the 'Mr. Broody' stereotype perfectly."

Rey got up to rinse her bowl, rolling her eyes. "Shut up," she mumbled. "Shouldn't you be getting to work?"

His eyes widened, and Rey smirked as she picked up her bag and walked out the front door.

She could hear him mumbling _shit_ repeatedly to himself as she closed it behind her.

* * *

“The steps for this dance are very different than the samba's.”

They were just starting to learn their new dance. Kylo seemed to be in his usual reserved mood, and Rey couldn't help but think about how Finn was right about the term "broody" applying to him.

“How so?” Rey asked.

“In the tango, you have to pick up your feet more," Kylo explained. "In other styles, it was more of a glide. That’s not the case here.”

The hold they were currently positioned in was different, too.

Their torsos were further apart, for one. Kylo’s arm was also wrapped more tightly around her, with his hand planted firmly on her spine rather than sitting at her waist. The tips of his fingers grazed her bare skin, as her tank top did not cover her back entirely.

Their hips were still pressed close together, though.

Rey reminded herself that she was a very mature, professional person.

Mostly.

Kylo counted as they took their first few tentative steps together.

He had to remind her every few beats about the new kind of tango step, as she kept reverting back to the samba style that she was more familiar with.

"Sorry, sorry." Rey winced sheepishly. ”It’s just hard to remember all the different kinds of steps. I feel like there's already so many in my brain."

Kylo released her. “I get it, but it just means you have to concentrate a bit more.”

Rey took a deep breath, and squared her shoulders. "Yeah, I know. Let's go again." 

Once she got more accustomed to the new hold and steps, she felt a bit more relaxed and could use her attention for the steps themselves.

While the majority of the dance had their faces at a distance from one another, there were a few specific moves that had the two of them turning their heads, and they would be pressed close together; close enough to feel one another's breath.

Her cheeks heated every time she felt it.

“Remember, you’re turning your head on four,” he reminded her before they moved.

Rey nodded, and they were off.

As instructed, she made sure to jerk her head to the side on four. The quick movement meant that a lock of Kylo's hair grazed her forehead.

"Good, that was good,"

Later, after their lunch, they began learning the more advanced tricks that the tango entailed, since they had already established the baseline of the dance. They did one more repetition of the basic steps, before finishing with Rey positioned standing with her back to Kylo’s chest. 

“Great. Then for the next step…” He cleared his throat. His mouth was positioned close to her ear. “...you’re going to pop your leg up, but make sure you’re keeping it straight. No bend in the knee.” 

Rey blinked. “Like… this?” She lifted her leg so that it formed a ninety degree angle with the rest of her body. She did her best to keep her weight on her other leg, but ended up leaning into Kylo as a support despite her best efforts.

“A bit higher,” Kylo instructed. 

Rey struggled, pulling it up a bit higher. “Here?” 

Kylo grunted. “More like-” His hand was suddenly on the top of her thigh, and pulling her leg up higher than she thought she was capable of. 

“There, like that,” he murmured.

Rey bit her lip. “Won’t this make me flash everyone?” she joked shakily.

A huff of air hit her ear. “Your wardrobe will ensure you won’t,” he said dryly. He released her leg, and she let it drop to the floor.

She could still feel the phantom pressure of his fingers gripping her tightly.

“Now, you try it,” he commanded. “Make sure you go slowly when you do it. You could easily injure yourself if you moved too quickly.”

Rey acknowledged this with a nod. She slid her leg up until it was positioned just as it had been before, albeit much more carefully.

"We'll have to work on that," he said.

They experimented with a few other moves, including Rey being spun while being held in a dip. When she came up from this maneuver, she couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped her.

”Sorry,” she gasped. “That just made me a bit dizzy,”

Kylo snorted. “I’d recommend closing your eyes next time.”

Rey managed to steady herself, using her hand on Kylo's forearm to do so. “That’s probably a good idea.”

Kylo glanced down at where her hand was, but didn't say anything about it. "Now that you've got a lot of the steps down, we can focus on the more performative aspects. Making sure to convey the right mood."

Rey squinted. “Like how the samba is about... sensuality?” 

He nodded. "Right, but the tone is a bit different. The tango is more…” He searched for the right words, “...it’s more about the passion two people feel.” 

Rey swallowed hard. “Right.”

“Which means,” he continued, “that there are small gestures that will be thrown to sort of… convey that.” His gaze met hers. “Can I show you?” 

She could only nod.

He returned his hands to where they had been for the dance. However, his hand that was on her back slid up and up until he was cupping the base of her neck. 

“Things like this,” he said quietly, “are just little gestures that really get the point across.” 

Rey nodded slowly. His hand made her feel positively delicate in his grasp. Even though she knew she wasn’t.

"At a few points in the dance, you should throw in something like this,"

She swallowed. "Okay," she murmered.

He let his hand fall away from her, but remained standing close to her. “Give it a try, It can feel... odd, at first."

Rey inhaled unsteadily, then lifted her right hand to place it on Kylo’s cheek.

His skin was smooth the the touch, and Rey settled her palm more firmly against the curve of his cheek. “Good?” she asked.

His eyes had drooped slightly, and she could see his throat bob slightly as he swallowed. “Yes, exactly. Make sure to do it… with confidence, next time.” His gaze raised to meet hers. "Like you mean it."

She felt a bit unsteady on her feet at the intensity in his gaze.

But so what if a few small gestures flustered her?

Whatever. It was fine.

They resumed the practice of the steps, but Rey made sure to include as many small touches as she could. Every time her hand grazed his jaw or his hair, her heart accelerated exponentially.

They finally finished up for the day about an hour later. Rey grabbed her water bottle and greedily gulped some down, thoroughly wiped from the long hours of work.

She heard her phone buzz from her bag, and curiously tugged it out to see who it was.

She was more than thrilled to see that it was a text from Rose.

_Hey! Do you want to grab lunch with me tomorrow? Maybe around noon?_

Rey shot back her reply almost immediately.

_I would love that!_

They planned to meet at the cafe a few doors down, and Rey felt excited about tomorrow as she got in her car to drive home.

The next day, she met Rose at the entrance to the cafe, where Rose gave her an enthusiastic hug in greeting. Rey returned the greeting in kind.

Sitting down at a table with their meals-a sandwich for Rey and a salad for Rose-they chatted about how their current dances were going. Rose lamented to Rey the utter torture that was the jive.

“It’s absolutely killer on my legs,” she bemoaned.

Rey grimaced sympathetically "Yikes, that sounds awful."

"It is. And I have to do it in heels, too! I swear to God, whoever created this abomination of a dance had better answer for themselves."

They continued to talk about their dances, before they moved on to the things they liked and disliked about living in Hollywood.

Finally, Rey saw the opportunity she'd been looking for.

“There’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” she mentioned.

“What’s up?” Rose asked curiously.

“Would you be willing to do a video with me for my channel?”

A smile grew on Rose's face. “Yeah, that would honestly be really cool. I'd love to!” she said. “I meant it when I said I really like what you do.”

“Wish everyone felt that way,” Rey muttered.

Rose’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean by that?”

Rey glanced down at her half-eaten sandwich, playing with it absently. 

She decided she could trust Rose with this.

“Well,” she said slowly, “Certain people don’t really think what I do is valuable, is all.”

Rose studied her. “Certain people like…?” she prodded.

“Like Kylo,” Rey finally admitted.

Rose’s frown turned to a scowl. “He said what you do isn’t valuable?” 

Rey sighed. “No, he never said that. But I can tell that he thinks it’s stupid.”

“Well, if he really thinks that, then he's really missing out." After a moment of thought, she added, "It’s not like the two of you have to be friends.”

Rey’s heart sank. “Right,” she murmured.

“And he’s kind of a jerk most of the time anyway, so it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for him to dislike something great.”

Rey frowned. “See, people seem to think that, but I don’t really understand why. He’s a bit… reserved, sure, but he’s never really been super rude to me or anything like that."

Rose grimaced. “Well, it’s mostly because of some of the flip outs he’s had on past partners.”

Rey squinted. “How many of those have there been?”

Rose tapped her finger on the table. "Oh, maybe three or four big ones? You know, ones that include actual shouting. But if you include passive-agression, there's probably way more."

Rey let this information sink in. "I could see why people would be upset by that," she said slowly.

“And it's also about his interactions with the paparazzi,” Rose continued. “He’s been pretty awful towards them.”

While she certainly didn’t condone rudeness to others, Rey thought personally that paparazzi were pretty invasive, and certainly wouldn’t judge Kylo if he had been a bit nasty to them.

"But anyways, if Kylo Ren thinks your videos are stupid, then he doesn't really deserve to watch them anyway, right?"

Rey picked up her sandwich and took a large bite. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

* * *

There was a strange air in the studio when she entered on Thursday.

Kylo was pacing the far end of the studio, running his hands through his already rumbled hair.

Curiously, Rey moved closer to him. "Hey."

He turned towards her, and his hands fell back to his sides, where they clenched into fists.

"Hey," he replied.

She took in his rigid posture with some level of concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just..." Kylo’s face was grim. “I just got done meeting with the producers.”

Panic seized in her chest. Were they eliminating them from the show? But how could they? They were one of the highest ranked couples, and she was having so much fun learning and spending time with Kylo, and—

Seeing the panic crossing her face, he rushed to add, “It’s not… what you’re thinking.” 

Rey exhaled noisily. “Oh, thank God. I really thought I was done for.” 

He avoided her gaze. “No, we’re fine. In fact, this conversation was… kind of the opposite.” 

Rey blinked in confusion. “What does that mean?” 

“The producers… think we’re really great together. And they think we’re good for the show. They asked me if we could, uh…” The tips of his ears that were peeking out of his hair were turning pink, and Rey wondered just what could make him have a reaction like that. Then, she found out. 

“They want us to play up the romance, a little.”

Rey blinked. “What?”

Kylo heaved a sigh. “They think we have… good chemistry, and think it would be a waste to not utilize it.”

Rey didn’t know how to respond for a minute. _Utilize? Our chemistry?_

_We have chemistry?_

Finally, she managed to pull together a coherent response. “I mean, I guess that makes sense, but, like… what do they want us to do, specifically?” 

Kylo shrugged. “I mean, just be more affectionate, generally? Say nice things about one another in front of the cameras, watch each other more. Stuff like that.”

On one hand, it didn't seem like what Kylo was proposing would take that much effort, and if it would help them to win the show, it would certainly be worth it.

But...

“You should take some time to think about it. Maybe let me know by next week?”

Rey let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah, I can do that."

He seemed to relax a bit at her willingness to consider it. "Don't forget, Rey, that you can say no. The producers may not like it, but they can't force you to do anything."

"That's good to know."

The air in the room had grown weirdly charged, so Rey made an attempt to diffuse it. “You’ve probably done this kind of thing before anyway, right?” she asked. “I mean, romances are fabricated all the time on this show.”

“Actually, I haven’t,” Kylo said, not meeting her eyes.

She blinked.

"Really? But you're so..." _handsome, dashing, attractive,_ "...so the right type, for that."

Kylo snorted. "Well, my reputation isn't exactly one for cutesy affection. Most think I'm just... stern. And unapproachable."

Rey moved a bit closer to him as she asked, gently, "Why is that?" She wanted to hear it from him; why people thought he wasn't a good person. Because she, for one, didn't really believe it.

He pressed his lips together in thought. "Well, I guess I just have high standards for myself, and those kind of... get put on other people, sometimes."

"And the paparazzi suck, too, right? That’s part of it."

His thoughtful expression turned to a scowl. "I'm not a fan of my personal space being invaded."

She smirked slightly at him. "An interesting profession you've chosen, then."

Kylo seemed slightly embarrassed by this. "You know what I meant," he mumbled, grabbing her hand and tugging her closer to him. "Can we get started?"

Her stomach flipped. "Sure," she replied.

* * *

Rey hated to admit it, but it seemed like their conversation about Kylo's temperament was a bit of an omen.

She just couldn't seem to get her timing right today.

She could tell that Kylo was beginning to get frustrated with her continuous false starts and flubs.

"It's not that hard, Rey," he eventually bit out, exasperated after her fifth or sixth stumble on the chorus.

Her jaw set stubbornly and her frame stiffened. "Maybe for you," she retorted. "But I'm still fucking learning, so if you could just cut me some slack-"

The room was engulfed in a tense silence.

Rey breathed heavily. She belatedly realized that Mitaka had the camera trained intently on them.

_Great. That'll be in the package._

Kylo blew out a long breath, a hand running through his hair. He finally met her eyes, a bit calmer.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I didn't mean it like that."

She nodded slowly. "I know you didn't."

Kylo hesitantly extended his hand out to her. "Want to try again? No pressure, I promise."

Slowly, she lifted her arm and her fingers met his. "Alright."

* * *

By the time Sunday afternoon's dress rehearsal rolled around, Rey much more comfortable with the dance, and almost sure she could pull it off.

Almost.

Then, she saw Kylo's costume, and she suddenly wasn't so sure anymore. 

Kylo wasn’t wearing a shirt. 

Rey tried her absolute and complete best to not gape at his exposed chest and arms and back and... Well.

It was really just… a lot. 

“You ready?” Kylo asked, seemingly unaware of her current plight. 

“Uh, yup,” Rey said, voice a little higher pitched than she would’ve liked. Attempting for _casual_ but landing somewhere around _stupefied,_ she asked, "Is that... your whole costume?"

Kylo seemed confused. "Well, there's a cape, but I figured I'd wear that later."

_Of course._

When she was finally in the correct hold position, she tilted her head back slightly so that her gaze met Kylo’s. His warm body was only inches from hers, and her hand was placed on his bare shoulder. She didn't think she had ever seen muscles like this in real life, much less touched them like she did now.

Something about seeing them bare made her feel as though she was being slowly set on fire.

A dawning sense of realization began to settle over her as their music began to play. As she remembered all the steps in this dance that involved her touching his body.

She was going to have to work three times harder than normal to keep her composure. 

If she could just get through this dress rehearsal, there was a chance she could survive the show tonight. 

She took a deep breath, and when Kylo announced the count of "one", she fell into the steps of the tango.

Somehow, she was able to complete the dance without making a fool of herself, but as they completed their final position, she still felt as though she had just run a marathon.

God, she can’t believe she’ll have to do that _again.  
_

* * *

She had a few hours before the show started where she could relax, but as the time grew closer to headed to Kaydel to get her costume on and hair and makeup done. 

Rey's costume was, naturally, a play on Christine’s white dress. It had long sleeves and a high neckline, but left her back almost entirely exposed.

She thought about Kylo’s hands on her bare back and had to shake off the strange shivery sensation it gave her.

Her hair was in loose curls around her face to complete the “innocent” look.

The contrast of her bright white and Kylo’s black attire would be quite a striking one.

The two of them prepared to go onstage as their video package played. It made sure to highlight their quick spat, to make it seem like there was some real animosity between the two of them brewing. Rey grimaced slightly, despite having assumed this would happen.

“Now it’s time for Rey Johnson and Kylo Ren, dancing the tango!”

Hands laced, Kylo and Rey stepped onto the floor.

Rey did her best to perform the dance as passionately as possible, but between the tricky steps she had to navigate and the distracting bulk of Kylo’s body, she could feel herself struggling many of the steps. The more she thought about her issues, the more her breath shortened in anxiety.

They fell into their final position; Rey was dipped and Kylo’s face was inches from hers.

The crowd was cheering wildly, but the minute Rey spotted the expressions of the judges, her heart plummeted.

They were not very impressed. One of the woman on the panel had a clear look of disdain on her face, and she gave them a score of six.

Canady listed off their technical problems, but ended his rant with, “It was also just… uninspired.”

Rey felt her chest tighten. The crowd was roaring in indignation, but she could barely hear any of it.

Without a word, Kylo slid his arm around her waist. Rey felt slightly steadier.

He ushered her off the stage.

They moved through the backstage hallways. She only spoke when she knew they were out of range of anyone else hearing them.

“I’m so sorry-” she began.

Before she could even finish her thought, Kylo was already shaking his head. “No,” he said firmly. “You did the best you could. Off days happen; it’s just inevitable. I don’t want you to think for a second more that it was your fault. Okay?”

She swallowed the lump in the throat. “If you say so…”

“I mean it,” he insisted. “Don’t forget that there were two people out there tonight.”

His face was so close to hers.

“I just really don’t want this to be over already,” she whispered.

His hand slid down her arm, until his fingers were tangled with hers. “It won’t be,” he murmured. “I’m sure of it.”

Rey used her free hand to wipe at her cheeks, then took a deep breath. “Okay,” she said. “Now we wait, I guess.”

They made their way to the waiting room with all the other dancers, where the couple going home would be announced. They had previously never bothered attending, as their status had always been too high to worry about it.

But not anymore.

Rey couldn’t seem to stop fidgeting, and Kylo had to press a hand down on her shoulder to keep her still.

An agonizing wait later, it was time for the announcement.

The screen flashed the names of another couple. They were the ones who were done.

Kylo and Rey were safe.

Rey collapsed in relief. “Thank God,” she muttered.

Kylo smiled down at her. “See? You should start believing what I say.”

Rey laughed weakly. “Yeah, I guess I should.”

* * *

Finn was out celebrating Poe’s performance with him, and that left the apartment empty for Rey to use. 

She was at home alone, and while she tried to concentrate on the Netflix drama she was watching, she couldn’t stop thinking about Kylo’s offer. To pretend to be romantically interested in her.

Well, it wasn’t really his idea. But still. 

It would more than likely be good for their rankings on the show. It could prevent them from having another close call like tonight. And while winning wasn’t the most important thing to Rey, she did know that it would be an amazing thing if she did. 

It would had the possibility to prevent what had happened that night.

More than anything else, though; she wanted to win for Kylo. He had never won before, and as someone who was dedicated and worked hard, Rey felt like he really, truly would deserve it if they won. 

But what if she caught real feelings for him? More than the ones she already had, anyway. 

Sure, she’d been attracted to him since the moment she’d first seen him. But he had so clearly been uninterested. 

And this was his job, for Christ’s sake. 

She could be professional. 

_I’ll do it. The fake dating thing._ She texted him before she could second guess herself. The instant she hit send, she threw her phone on the other side of the couch. _No turning back now._

For a while, he didn’t respond. Long enough for her to stop waiting and to enter the kitchen to make herself a late night snack. As she was pulling some cheese out of the fridge, she heard her phone buzz. 

In a rush, she ran back to her phone and picked it up to read his message. 

_Okay. See you tomorrow_

Rey huffed in annoyance. Well, if she’d had any doubt that he was doing this because he had to and not because he, like, _wanted_ to, she sure did now. 

At least she’d get an opportunity to pretend to have a relationship with him, just for a little while. Even if it wasn’t real. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song they tango to is a tango version of POTO by Studio Tanz Orchester Klaus Hallen.


	5. week four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The quickstep and the foxtrot.

“ _Two_ dances?” Rey groaned. “How in the hell are we expected to learn and perform two dances in the _same_ week?”

Kylo, who was much less perturbed by this scenario, as was his default, glanced at her. “It’s not easy. I won’t lie to you about that. But it really is doable, I swear.”

Rey grunted. “Well, I mean, if you think it can be done…”

"It can." Kylo smirked at her. “I had assumed you’d be up for the challenge...”

The two dances they were set to learn were the foxtrot and the quickstep; two dances that could not be more polar opposite. One was smooth, fluid, and delicate, while the other was jerky, fast, and required mass amounts of energy. Just looking at some of the steps Kylo had outlined made Rey want to collapse onto the floor.

"Oh, I am," she assured him. "But I'm just letting the record show that I am _not_ thrilled about it."

"Noted." Kylo turned his focus back to his planning document. “We’re going to spend our mornings doing quickstep, when we have the most energy, and we’ll do foxtrot in the afternoon, since it’s a bit more laid back.”

“Not all of us are energized in the morning,” she pointed out with a huff.

Kylo chuckled. “I’ll buy you some extra caffeine this week.“

Rey happened to glance over at Mitaka, who had the cameras trained steadily on them. She turned away quickly, but still felt herself blush slightly.

_Right. Okay then._

The quickstep was, as it turned out, Rey’s worst enemy.

“Look, I know this sounds hyperbolic,” she panted after fifteen minutes of practicing the dance’s signature snappy step, “but I would truly rather be in high school gym class right now. And high school gym class is _literal_ hell.”

Kylo let out a put-upon sigh, but she could tell that he was enjoying her antics. “Yes, I am aware it’s difficult. But like with all the other dances-”

“-it gets easier with practice, yeah I know,” Rey finished, pouting.

“Plus,” he went on, “you’re young and fit, so I’m not sure what you’re complaining about.”

She glared at him. “Well, since you’re so much _older,_ I’m just looking out for your health.”

Kylo sulked. "I'm not _that_ old."

"You’re the one that brought it up, not me."

”Clearly a mistake.” Kylo tugged her back into to position. “Since it appears you’ve caught your breath...”

Rey gasped and pointed at him accusingly. “You tricked me!”

A full smirk bloomed on his face. “Maybe a little.”

After lunch, Rey put together her most pleading expression as she asked him. “Foxtrot now?”

He sighed theatrically. “Yeah, okay. But only because it’s time, not because you asked.”

Rey beamed. “I don’t give a shit about the why, just the result.”

This dance was unlike any of the others they had done. For one thing, it was much slower than any of the others. There was still plenty to think about in terms of posture and balance and lines, but the sweeping accompaniment of Dinah Washington made the experience feel positively ethereal.

Rey found herself enjoying it immensely.

Particularly when she considered Kylo’s massive frame sweeping hers around the room. 

A large amount of hair was falling out of her ponytail, and for some reason Kylo would not stop staring at it.

He reached over and pulled her hair back behind her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as he did so. Rey willed her eyes not to move away from his.

_It's just for the cameras. Otherwise he wouldn’t be doing this._

Each time one of these small gestures occurred, though, it got harder and harder to remember that.

* * *

They were waiting in line to grab coffee the next morning before rehearsal when Rey mentioned casually, “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

This got Kylo’s attention. “What’s that?”

She bit her lip. “I think we should probably post more on social media together. You know, for the whole… playing up our relationship for the show, thing.”

Kylo tilted his head in consideration, his sunglasses obscuring his eyes and his expression.

“Yeah, that makes sense,” he said eventually. “The only problem is I know nothing about social media.”

Rey brightened up. “I can show you,” she said eagerly.

He smiled crookedly, showing a rare flash of his teeth. “That sounds dangerous.”

“Oh, it will be,” she promised, grinning.

Once they'd ordered and gotten their drinks, they found an empty table on the corner of the room. Rey set her phone down on the table with Instagram open, before she turned her attention to the bagel she’d bought. She took a huge bite and chewed thoroughly as she began to explain to Kylo the mechanics of social media.

“So I’m thinking what we should do is post a few stories on Instagram together, which will then lead up to an official post.” She swallowed her bite. “It doesn’t have to be, like, overly romantic or anything. Just show that we’re spending some time together when we don’t strictly have to be.” She paused, narrowing her eyes. “Wait. Are you even following me anywhere?”

Kylo’s cheeks reddened. “Uh, well, I haven’t actually used my accounts in a while, so…” He shrugged sheepishly. “I’m probably not.”

Rey gasped theatrically. “Well, we need to fix that. Immediately.” She held out her palm towards him. He stared at it blankly.

“Your phone,” she said impatiently.

“Oh, right.” He opened his phone and handed to her. The tips of his fingers grazed hers as she took it from him.

Rey found the appropriate social media apps, and went to follow herself on each of them.

”I should also probably admit that I don’t really know what you were talking about before.” His face was still a bit red. “You know, with the... stories and the posts and...” he waved his hand in the air awkwardly, “...all of that. So. I might need some Explaination.”

She smiled up at him. “Yeah, I think we can manage that. But in the mean time, you’ll just have to trust me.”

He let his hand fall back to the table. “I do.”

“Well, good.” She returned her attention to his phone, where she composed a tweet from his account.

_@kylo_ren: Haven’t been on in a while but @thereyjohnson is making me learn about the internet…_

“There,” she said triumphantly, posting it.

Kylo glanced at her work. “I could’ve written something myself,” he pointed out mildly.

Rey waved off his concerns with a smirk. “Now,” she said, “we need to take a picture of our drinks together. Not showing our names completely, but making it obvious that it is us.”

Kylo obediently handed her his drink. “Whatever you say. You’re the expert.”

Rey winked. “That’s the spirit.”

She took the picture, with the drinks angled to only show the beginning of their names, then pulled up her Instagram to post it on her story.

She included the caption: _can’t dance without coffee. physically impossible._

“There,” she announced. _“_ Perfect.” Putting her phone away, she sipped her drink. “We can do more with it later. No need to bombard all at once.”

“That would look pretty suspicious,” he agreed.

“We wouldn’t want that.”

Rey didn’t stop their social media game at just that. She resolved that every day, one of them would post something that included both of them.

Go big or go home, she figured.

She began her new mission in the studio the very next day. Rey opened her camera app and positioned herself on the floor so that the large mirror was visible behind her.

“Hey, Kylo, can you look at me like you’re kind of annoyed with me, but also think I’m kind of funny?” she called over to him.

Kylo crossed his arms over his chest, his eyebrows raised. “Ah…”

“Perfect,” she grinned, snapping some photos. In them, Rey took up the majority of the frame, but in the background of the photo, a slightly amused yet slightly annoyed Kylo could just be made out.

“Can we get to work now?” he asked, ambling over to where she was seated. He peered down at the photo she’d taken. “Also… maybe you could send me that.”

Rey laughed. “Yeah, okay, sure.” She sent him the photo, then put her phone away to resume practice.

The day after that, Rey woke up to find that Kylo had posted a photo of her, without any prompting. The photo was of her, laughing as she completed a spin. She remembered that moment; they hadn’t officially started working yet, and in her “high on good coffee” mood, she’d been messing around with some of the spins she'd learned the day before. Apparently, Kylo had captured one of these moments.

She looked extremely happy in the picture.

The photo’s caption was: _Maybe we should cut off her coffee supply_.

As much as she tried, she could not stop the stupid grin that spread across her face. She went to write a comment.

_@thereyjohnson: don’t u DARE_

Rey had figured that she would need to work a lot harder to convince him to do this whole “online presence” thing, but it appeared that he was a downright natural. Who would have thought?

Another notification popped up, this time from twitter.

Kylo had mentioned her in a new tweet.

Rey tapped it embarrassingly quickly, the need to know what he'd said an instinct she couldn’t have possibly stopped. Still, she hoped no one ever found out just how eager she was.

It was a response to someone asking him, "what do you think of YouTube as a career?”

He had responded. 

_@kylo_ren: It’s pretty impressive, and no one is better at it than Rey is._

Rey blinked.

_What?_

Maybe he was just saying that for the benefit of everyone else. That was entirely plausible.

But what if those were his real thoughts?

As much as he was playing up their relationship for the show, Kylo wasn't exactly the greatest liar known to man. As far as she could tell, anyway. His face gave way too much away for that to be the case.

The nagging question kept plaguing her, though. Didn't he hate this kind of thing? The whole... internet famous, thing?

At any rate, it was easier to ponder this mystery than to acknowledge the flutter in her stomach at receiving a compliment from him.

Rey decided to bring it up with him during their lunch.

"Do you think my videos are dumb?"

Kylo looked up from his meal, completely startled by her question. "What?"

Rey flushed. "I mean... are you embarrassed of them, or anything? Because it seemed to me like you hated the fact that I made stupid YouTube videos. But then you said that thing on Twitter, and so I was just confused about... what you really thought.”

He studied her solemnly. “They’re not stupid, Rey.”

She blinked. “But you always got so annoyed whenever I brought it up.”

Kylo couldn’t meet her gaze. “I wasn’t annoyed. I was..” he hesitated, “I was just embarrassed, by how much I already knew your channel.”

Rey gaped at him. “You’ve seen my videos before?”

“Yeah, I watched a lot of them. I thought you were really…” he struggled to find the right word, “...amazing. Determined. Honest.” He met her gaze. “You’re very real. That’s something I haven’t had a lot of. So yeah, I’m a fan, you could say.”

A smile bloomed on her face. "A fan? Really?"

He looked away from her. "Don't get a big head about it," he mumbled bashfully.

Rey giggled. "I'm not sure I can help it. Kylo Ren is a fan of _me?"_

"See, I had my reasons for not saying anything. And they were justified, clearly."

"Well," she sobered a bit, "Thank you for not thinking it's stupid. I know a lot of people do."

Kylo studied her. "You shouldn't believe them. If it's any consolation, I know what it's like to have an easily mocked career."

Rey winced. "Are people dicks to you about being a dancer?"

"Oh, yeah," he intoned. "All the time. Must not be a real man if he likes dancing, and shit like that.”

Rey privately wondered who in their right mind could question _his_ masculinity, but chose not to say so out loud.

"I'm sorry you've had to deal with that."

"I'm pretty used to it by now, seeing as it's happened as long as I can remember."

“Did your parents… not like that you did dance?” she asked before she could stop herself. She immediately regretted it, and went to tell him that it was none of her business, but found that he seemed to be genuinely considering her question, so her mouth snapped shut.

Kylo stared down at his lunch, absently pushing his food around. “They weren’t… upset about it, or anything. They just… didn’t really get it. Why I liked something that shouldn’t be for me, you know, as a _boy._ ” He stabbed at a salad he had packed with his fork. “Which is bullshit, obviously.”

“Obviously,” she agreed firmly.

He glanced up at her briefly. “It feels strange to complain when… overall they were alright, I suppose. But they didn’t have the time for me, and didn’t relate to my interests, so they just…” he shrugged, “...sent me off at the first opportunity.”

“Kylo,” she said, compassion filling her. “I’m really sorry. You never deserved that. And they’re idiots for not understanding how amazing you are.”

His face turned slightly pink. “Thanks,” he muttered. “And… I’m sorry, too.” He met her gaze. “I know I can sit here and complain, but it’s not... the same, as what you’ve been through. So, yeah. I’m sorry. For the shitty hand life dealt you.”

Rey shrugged absently. “Doesn’t feel all that shitty right now.”

He smiled. “You know what I mean.”

“I do. Thank you, Kylo.”

* * *

Friday dawned, and Rey was filled with anticipation, for today was an important day.

Maz was coming to the studio today.

A few days before her _Morning Show_ appearance, Luke had informed her that they were hoping to get a family member of hers on the show, to showcase a heartwarming reunion. Rey had given them contact information for Maz Kanata, who was her favorite foster mother, and the only one she’d kept in touch with.

Maz had been Rey's foster mother between the ages of twelve and fourteen. It had been two of the greatest years of her life. Unfortunately, Maz’s health had taken a turn for the worse, and she hadn’t been able to continue to care for Rey.

Rey had been sad to leave the only place that had ever felt like home, but she was at least grateful that Maz was still alive, and they made sure to keep in touch as much as possible.

The show paying for Maz to fly to Los Angeles and see Rey perform was, to Rey, and incredible gift.

She could not wait.

Throughout the morning's practice, Rey was jittery and on edge. She was constantly glancing at the studio's entrance to see if anyone had arrived.

Kylo merely rolled his eyes at her distractibility. "She'll get here when she gets here, you staring at the door is not going to help anything."

Rey pouted up at him. "I know that, but I can't help it."

He leaned down so that his face hovered much closer to hers. Rey's breath caught in her throat.

"Well, I think that you should pay more attention."

She swallowed. "Fine, I’ll try.”

Their faces were close, and Rey was captivated by his eyes that hadn’t left hers.

“Well, this scenario is certainly unexpected.”

Rey whirled around, and there, in the doorway, stood Maz Kanata, a smile creasing her weathered face.

Rey beamed as she rushed over to her former foster mother, enveloping her in a massive hug. “It’s so good to see you, Maz,” she said.

Maz laughed. “I’m so happy to see you too, dear. Although I must admit you are still much too thin.”

Rey pulled away from her slightly so that she could see her face. Not even the slight admonishment could deter her joy.

Maz glanced warily over at the camera crew.

“Well, they did pay for me to come here, so I guess I can’t be too upset,” Maz relented after a moment’s standoff between her and Mitaka, who merely shrugged at her.

Rey lead her over to where Kylo was standing, a quiet smile tugging at his features after witnessing the reunion.

“Maz, this is my partner, Kylo,” she introduced.

Maz gave him an appraising look. “Very handsome man. You’ve chosen well, Rey,” She extended her hand to Kylo. “Good to meet you, Kylo.”

Rey flushed to the roots of her hair. “My dance partner,” she hastened to add, but Maz was effectively ignoring her.

Kylo looked slightly uncomfortable as he shook Maz’s hand, but seemed sincere as he replied, “Nice to meet you too, Ma’am.”

Maz waved him off. “None of that. Maz will do just fine.”

Rey pulled over the chair they’d brought into the studio specifically for Maz, and helped her settle in. “Sorry if watching us practice isn’t very interesting,” she said, grimacing. “We’ll be repeating a lot of the same stuff over and over. Tomorrow when we perform will be much more exciting.”

Maz waved off her concerns. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. I brought a book if it gets too boring.”

Reassured, Rey returned to the center of the studio to stand next to Kylo.

“Which one are we practicing?” she asked.

Kylo didn’t reply; he just stared at her, a smirk tugging at his lips.

Rey groaned. “Fucking quickstep,” she grumbled. “Fine.”

Kylo’s eyebrow raised. “Such language. And in front of Maz, even.”

“I’ve heard worse,” Maz called from her seat. "Not just in general, either; from Rey specificslly."

Rey grinned cheekily.

The rest of the rehearsal was fairly uneventful; suprisingly, having the audience of Maz was not too distracting. She was used to having the cameras by now, and this really was not all that different.

The only time her attention was drawn to Maz was when she let out an amused snort as Kylo physically moved one of Rey’s legs with his hand instead of telling her where to put it.

When they wrapped up for the day, Rey and Maz waved goodbye to Kylo as they got into Rey’s car. He waved a slightly awkward goodbye in turn. Rey had to work to suppress her amused grin as the started the car and pulled out of her parking spot.

She and Max chatted amicably on the way back to Rey’s apartment; although Maz had a hotel to stay the night in, she had insisted on getting to see the place where Rey lived.

"You still live with that boy? The one you met in high school?" Max asked as they arrived and her building and got out of the car.

Rey grinned. "Yeah, Finn still lives here. Although, he just started dating a guy he really likes, so who knows how much longer that'll be the case." She tried to laugh it off, but the thought of living alone did make her feel a bit unbalanced.

Maz nodded thoughtfully. "Ah, I see."

Rey unlocked the front door, and she opened it for the two of them to walk through. Maz entered her apartment and glanced around appraisingly.

Rey fiddled with her keys anxiously. “I know it’s not much, but…”

“Rey,” Maz interrupted. "It's beautiful. It's completely, unequivically you."

Rey smiled tremulously, a lump growing in her throat. "Thank you," she managed.

Maz's eyes had grown misty. “I wanted to tell you, dear, just how proud I am of you.”

Rey blinked furiously. “Really?”

“Yes, sweetheart. You’ve made such a wonderful life for yourself here, with your job and your friends. That’s all I could ever ask for.”

Rey hugged her tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered, her throat tight.

”Of course, dear.” Maz returned her hug just as tightly. When she pulled away, she smiled mischievously. “And of course that young man you’re dancing with-“

Rey groaned loudly.

* * *

The next day, Maz was visiting some friends in the area, as Rey had suggested today would be a good day to skip watching them. She had agreed, and thus it was once again just her and a Kylo.

“As much as I love watching you work,” Maz had explained, “it does get a bit boring after awhile.”

They were working on the finale of their foxtrot when Rey swore loudly. "Shit, time really got away from me. I have to go to my interview with Amilyn Holdo."

Kylo stepped away from her and nodded. "Go ahead. We can finish this up once you're done."

She smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem."

Rey made her way to the interview room, where Amilyn and the camera crew were already waiting for her.

"Rey, so good to see you," Amilyn greeted. "Come, have a seat."

Rey obeyed, sliding onto the interview stool. She brushed a few loose locks of hair out of her eyes, and straightened her posture.

"Tell us how your week has been going, Rey,"

"Well, it's been pretty good. It's been a bit stressful, trying to learn two dances at the exact same time, but I've been managing."

Holdo nodded encouragingly.

"And Maz gets to be here this week, which is really exciting."

"What does it mean for you to have Maz here?"

"It means... so much. She's one of the most imporant people in my life."

Holdo switched topics then. "How have you and Kylo been getting along this week? I know there was some tension last week..."

"It's been good," Rey affirmed. "We may have disagreed a bit last week, but we've certainly... come to an understanding, now."

"What do you think of his teaching style overall?"

Rey thought about her answer to the question.

”I think... that he’s a really great teacher. He pushes me, sure, but he’s also... really kind. I’m so glad that he was the one I was partnered with.”

Holdo thanked her for her time, and Rey rose to return to the studio.

Distantly, she realized that she’d played into their new “romance” without even meaning to.

She’d just been speaking her true thoughts about him.

* * *

Rey only survived their quickstep by the very skin of her teeth.

She'd barely managed to keep up with the steps, finishing the dance with a gasping breath.

Panting, she leaned heavily against Kylo's side as the judges explained their thoughts.

“It wasn’t the worst I’ve seen,” Canady concluded, “but it probably could have been better.”

As disheartening as it was, Rey had to agree with him. This style just didn’t fit her, and she was willing to accept that.

But she would make up for it during the foxtrot.

She had to.

Kylo lead her off the stage, where she slumped into a nearby chair. Finn and Maz approached her, sympathetic looks on their faces.

“I enjoyed it,” Maz announced.

Rey snorted. “Honestly, the only good thing about this dance was that I got to wear pants.”

She had been clad in a lavender jumpsuit, with off-the-shoulder sleeves. She wished she could wear more costumes like this one, but recognized that it didn’t really fit the style for most.

She got up and stretched. “I have to go change for our next dance.” She glanced at Kylo. “Do you have to?”

He nodded, his mouth quirking. “I have to put on a slightly different shade of blue.”

Rey laughed, the two of them sharing an amused glance.

“Well,” Maz drawled, “I guess I’ll see the two of you afterwards, then.” She winked at Rey as she departed.

Finn watched her go, then glanced at them helplessly. “I’m, uh, gonna go find Poe,” he hedged.

Before Rey could reply, he was gone.

Kylo and her began the walk to the dressing rooms.

“I can’t believe Canady was nitpicking about your style when he didn’t even notice that foot slip of yours at the start of the chorus,” Kylo was grumbling.

Rey snorted. “Gee, thanks, Kylo.”

Rey realized, somewhat belatedly, that there was a cameraman nearby with his lens trained on them.

She nudged Kylo with her elbow, and he glanced over at where she was indicating.

He stiffened slightly when he noticed them. “I hate when they do that,” he mumbled, low enough so that only she could hear.

"Film without you knowing?" she prompted.

"Yeah, that."

They met back up around twenty minutes later in their new costumes. Hers was a long, colorful dress, and his was, as he had mentioned, suit that was a slightly darker shade of blue.

She spotted Phasma a few meters away from them, and on a whim she beckoned her to come near where she and Kylo were standing. The tall, statuesque blonde eventually moved towards them begrudgingly, seeming entirely annoyed with the prospect.

"Hey, I don't believe we've been introduced," Rey said. 

Phasma rolled her eyes. "I know who you are." Glancing at Kylo, she nodded curtly. "Ren."

Kylo nodded back, just as stiffly. “Hey, Phasma.”

“Could you just take a few pictures of us?” Rey asked hopefully.

Phasma sighed, but acquiesed. “All right, if you absolutely insist.”

Rey handed Phasma her phone, before she slid easily under Kylo’s arm, and made sure his palm was positioned at her waist. “Smile!” she said, a bright grin plastered on her own face.

Phasma snapped a few photos. “He’s not smiling, just so you’re aware,” she deadpanned.

Affronted, Rey turned her face up to glare at Kylo. He looked down at her, looking slightly pink-cheeked and caught out.

“It was one photo,” she cajoled. “You seriously can’t smile for one picture? Will you spontaneously combust or something?”

A tiny smile curved his lips. “No, but I do have a reputation to uphold.”

Rey huffed, but before she could argue further Phasma was thrusting the phone back into her hands.

“I don’t have time for this,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I have to get ready to perform. Good luck tonight.” She shot Kylo a meaningful look before she waltzed away.

"So that's Phasma, huh?"

"Yep, that’s her."

”Is she... always like that?”

”Essentially.”

Rey didn’t get a chance to look at the pictures before she was getting ready to go onstage with Kylo.

The package aired on the screen above their heads, and it showed the clip of her talking about Kylo, completely out of context.

_“I’m so glad that he was the one I was partnered with.”_

She rolled her eyes. They _really_ weren't pulling their punches on this romance thing, apparently.

Silently, Kylo extended his hand down to her, and she threaded their fingers together as they stepped out onto the stage.

The music started, and Rey started to sway.

_the leaves are brown, came tumbling down, remember_

_in september_

_in the rain?_

She moved in quick, sharp turns, and kept her lines graceful and straight as she bobbed. Kylo remained her center of gravity; he was the sun, and she was just another planet, orbiting around him. 

_though spring is here, to me it's still september_

_ooh, that september_

_in the rain_

The dance ended with Kylo pressing his forehead to hers, and their noses brushed together.

Somewhere, she heard the crowd cheering. But mostly she was lost in the soft brown of his eyes.

Kylo pulled back first, jolting her back into reality. She straightened up, and smiled out at the crowd.

They moved over to the judges' table, Kylo's arm still slung around her to rest on her hip.

"That was a beautiful dance!" one of the judges exclaimed.

"Incredible technique," another added.

Rey was so busy grinning at their praise she almost didn’t notice the warm lips that pressed into her hairline.

Startled, her eyes flew up to Kylo’s, who was smiling softly down at her.

The expression lit a warm glow in her chest, and she returned the look.

They recieved a score of three nines, and were back near the top of the leaderboard.

* * *

Later that night, she was laying in bed, just as incredibly tired as she was after each and every performance. But for some rewsok, her brain wouldn’t let her fall asleep.

In a sudden bout of inspiration, she pulled up the pictures she had taken with Kylo earlier to see what they looked like.

The first few photos were all essentially the same; there was the contrast of her in her colorful dress, and him in his dark ensemble. She was grinning, and he was not.

Then she got to the final few photos.

In these, she was looking up at him, and his eyes were connected to hers, his head inclined down towards her.

He was looking at her like she was something precious to him.

Rey swallowed hard. It was an amazing photo.

It really looked like two people who cared about one another. Like a real couple.

She posted it before she could think twice about it.

She wrote her caption, before she slid her phone back onto her nightstand and snuggled back into her pillows to fall asleep.

_Had an amazing night with @kylo_ren tonight. Thanks for not letting me fall❤️_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The quickstep is to "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall, and the foxtrot is to "September in the Rain" by Dinah Washington.


	6. week five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The contemporary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got stuck on this one for a little bit, but it's here now. If you're still reading this, thank you. Just, thank you.
> 
> Reminder that this is unbeta’d, so all mistakes are my own.

Rey awoke the next morning to see that her photo from the night before had blown up. Thousands of new likes and comments filled her phone screen, and everyone seemed to be freaking out about just how cute she and Kylo were together.

Despite her best efforts to suppress it, she couldn't help but agree with them.

There was a comment from Kylo listed, too. Rey tightened her grip on her phone reflexively at the sight.

_@kylo_ren: Wouldn’t dream of it, Rey._

Her heart leapt traitorously as she imagined him saying those words aloud to her in his deep, melodious voice.

Shaking her head abruptly to clear her thoughts, Rey threw her phone onto the other side of the bed and shoved herself up to go and take a shower.

It was a path of thought that was better left unexplored.

On her drive over to the studio, her phone that she had hooked up to the car’s speakers began playing their foxtrot song from the night before. Rey smiled wistfully, as she already missed the soft sweetness of that dance, and how it had allowed her to display a different side of herself. A side she so rarely allowed herself to tap into.

Kylo smiled over at her from his perch near the mirror when he saw her enter the studio.

“Morning, Rey.”

She returned his greeting with a smile. “Good morning.”

“Did Maz make it home okay this morning?”

Maz had unfortunately needed to fly back to New Mexico today, since she had a thrift store she needed to attend to back in New Mexico. Rey had tearfully hugged her goodbye the night before, promising that she would call more often.

“Yeah, she did. Thanks.”

“Good, I’m glad.”

Rey began a few warm up stretches. “So, what are we doing this week?” she asked, anticipation clear in her voice.

Kylo didn’t reply right away, appearing preocupied with his laptop.

She moved over to try and see what he was looking at, but he angled his screen away from her.

"Kylo.”

A smirk played at the corner of his lips. "What?"

“Come on, seriously. Just tell me.”

He finally caved, his smirk turning into a full grin exposing his teeth. “All right, I’ll tell you.” A lock of his dark hair had fallen into his eyes when he turned to look up at her. Rey felt the urge to reach out and push it back into place. 

“We’re dancing…” he paused for dramatic effect.  
  
Rey huffed. “Kylo Ren, I swear to God-” 

“Contemporary,” he interrupted. “We’re doing contemporary.” 

Rey gasped, excitement filling her veins. “Oh my God, really?” 

He snickered at her apparent excitement. “Yes, really.”

“That’s the one with all the jumps and stuff, right?” She was practically bouncing in place.

He confirmed this with a nod. “Yes, there are jumps involved. If you’re up for it.” 

Rey squared her shoulders. “Of course I am.”

Kylo had the grace not to mention her obvious competitive nature flaring up, but his amusement was still clearly visible in his expression.

They decided against starting with the jumps, opting to save those for a later date, and instead began working on spins and some other key choreography.

Rey's tolerance for continuous spinning had certainly improved over the course of her time on the show, but she still had her limits. After about six spins in a row, her vision began blurring, and she had to lean into Kylo heavily in an attempt to center herself as she gasped for breath.

"You all right?" he teased.

Rey threw him a glare, but it was somewhat ineffectual when she couldn't quite focus her eyes on his face. She planted her hands on his firm chest to push away from him, but the feeling of his muscles under her palms caused her cheeks to turn pink. She ignored the burning sensation entirely.

"I just needed a second, that's all. I'm good to go now."

He grabbed her hands to twine her fingers with his. "Glad to hear it. We going again?"

She remembered the cameras nearby as his long digits carasses hers, and quickly arranged her expression into a cloyingly sweet smile. "Sounds great."

The rest of the rehearsal occured in a similar fashion; Rey would become dizzy from the prolonged spinning, and would need to take a few minutes to regroup. She was annoyed with the weakness of her body, but Kylo merely seemed amused by her frustration.

"You'll get there, I promise," he reassured for the umpteenth time.

"Easy for you to say," she grumbled in retort.

It was only later in the afternoon on Tuesday when they began working on their first jump.

Kylo had procured a small and stable block for her to jump off first, and later they would transition to a higher jumping off point by using a chair.

Rey stood shakily on the block, spreading her arms to maintain her balance. She knew she looked utterly ridiculous.

It wasn’t that she was afraid of the height; there practically wasn’t any in her current position. She did, however, feel nervous about jumping in the air and having someone catch her. It was an activity that required a great deal of trust.

She also didn’t quite trust her own body not to accidentally hurt Kylo somehow. 

“Ready?” He was standing about two feet away, arms tensed at his sides, ready to reach for her.

Rey gulped. “Yeah, I guess so.”

On his command, she leapt off of the block.

There was a moment of weightlessness, before she was jarred back into her body by slamming into Kylo.

He did manage to catch her fairly gracefully, despite how uneven it had felt to her. His arms went around her and he grunted quietly, before flashing a tiny grin at her. “Good job.”

“Thanks,” she muttered, “but I think you did most of the work, there.”

“Maybe.” He set her back down on the ground. “Let’s try it again. Maybe this time you can actually focus on what your body is doing while you’re in the air.”

Rey glowered, but had to admit that he wasn’t wrong.

They practiced a few more times, and Rey grew more and more comfortable with the act. She also became less and less afraid of falling. 

Her first jump backwards, however, was still nerve wracking. 

“I can do this… I can do this…” she chanted to herself.

“You can.”

”Right.” Rey braced herself before she raised her arms and pushed off in the direction of Kylo behind her.

She landed safely in his arms once again.

“See? Not so bad,” Kylo said, raising his eyebrows at her.

The cameras were trained closely on them. Mitaka flushed as her gaze accidentally flickered past him.

“This is going in the reel,” she mumbled close to Kylo’s ear. Without letting herself think about it too much, Rey twined her arms more tightly around him and propped her chin on his shoulder in a gesture of faux affection.

She could feel Kylo’s chest rumble as he spoke to her, sliding her gently down his body and to the floor. “You’re not wrong.”

She kind of momentarily forgot what he was referring to.

Rey was pretty sure that this was her favorite week of dancing yet.

She had no idea how wrong she would be.

* * *

She was planning to get to the studio early Wednesday, so that she could warm up a bit extra before Kylo arrived. She liked the quiet of the studio when she was alone, but it was hard to arrive earlier than Kylo did, since he was clearly such an early riser.

But when she entered, it was already occupied. Kylo was there, standing in the center of the room with his arms crossed.

Luke was standing across from him.

Rey squinted in confusion. Luke hadn't mentioned anything to her about visiting the studio. _What is he doing here?_

Kylo was glaring at Luke, and Luke seemed to be in the middle of explaining something to calm him down.

“Hey, Luke,” Rey started, in an attempt to alert the two to her presence, “what’s going on?“ 

Luke spotted her, but didn’t even move to acknowledge her. His expression was resigned, and he turned back to Kylo who mostly seemed annoyed.

Until Luke started to speak again.

Without any preamble, Luke explained. “An article got released about your identity. They wanted to harm Leia’s campaign. For the moment, it seems to be working.”

Rey had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. Who the hell was Leia? What did he mean by _Kylo’s identity?_

But when she turned to look at Kylo, his face had gone pale and he was staring at Luke with shock and understanding. Whoever Leia was, Kylo knew her. 

“Your mother tried calling,” Luke continued, “but you weren’t answering, so she sent me to let you know. I’m headed to do damage control with her right now. You’re welcome - and encouraged - to come with me.” 

A sense of numbness had enveloped Kylo. “Yeah, sure,” he mumbled. “I’ll... meet you there. Is she at home?”

Luke simply nodded.

Rey had no idea what to do. She glanced helplessly at Luke, hoping he could give her answers.

She couldn’t get them from Kylo; he was already out the door and headed towards his car.

Luke sent her a wan smile. “I have to get to the press conference. I can explain on the way, if you come with me.” 

Rey may not have known what was happening, but she did know that something related to Kylo was clearly wrong. She wanted to be there for him, if he needed some comfort. Or anything else.

“Okay,” she said. “Let’s go.”

She climbed into Luke’s car with him, not knowing a single thing but wanting to find out.

* * *

The home that they pulled up in front of had Rey gaping in awe at the sheer size and beauty of it. It was a large house with a manicured lawn and flourishing gardens near the porch. Rey was certain she had never in her life been inside a house that size.

Mansion really was an appropriate term.

The lawn was packed to the brim with paparazzi.

Luke leaned over to her. "Stay close to me."

She could only nod dumbly in response.

She got out of the car right behind him, and made sure to stay close as the flock of cameras turned and began shouting at them. The noise was so deafening that Rey could not pick out any one single thread.

They finally made it to the grand doorway, and Luke pulled out a key from his pocket to unlock the door. He pulled it open and gestured her through.

Rey slipped inside, and couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her at the lavish entryway. A regal spiral staircase nearby led upstairs, and a chandelier hung artfully from the high ceiling.

Luke closed the door behind them, and the thus of the door closing was particularly loud in the deathly quiet space.

Then, suddenly, Rey could hear voices coming from the other room.

One of them was clearly Kylo’s.

Luke walked ahead of her in the direction of the voices, and she had not choice but to follow.

The voices grew louder as they drew closer, until they reached a door that Luke pushed open to reveal a petite older woman she didn’t recognize across from Kylo.

She stood still with her arms crossed, while Kylo paced back and forth in agitation.

Rey spotted the headline that was emblazoned on the front of the newspaper in giant bold text laying flat and open on the coffee table.

_Senator Leia Organa's Son Ben Solo Revealed As Professional Dancer Kylo Ren._

Her mind sort of blanked.

Kylo was standing stiffly by Leia - his mother _(his mother)_ \- and only just seemed to notice Rey's presence. He turned to glare at Luke.

"This is a personal matter, why did you invite her?"

A flash of hurt cut through her. Straightening her posture and firming her jaw, Rey snapped, "I'm right here, you know."

Kylo seemed somewhat chastised by this. He gave her an apologetic look, but the damage had been done, and Rey turned away from it.

"I just assumed she knew," Luke said with an eyeroll. "Sorry I can't read minds."

Leia seemed too frazzled to really acknowledge their conversation. "Ben, I need you to come out with me and explain that you support my campaign but also have a right to your own private business. There won't be any questions allowed, and it's just so that they can see that there isn't any bad blood between us."

Kylo’s lip curled snidely. "Right. Where would they have gotten that impression?"

Leia heaved a heavy sigh. "Ben, please. It’s just one interview. I won’t ask any more of you then that.”

Kylo seemed reluctant, but he gave his head a quick shake before his gaze returned to his mother's. 

"Fine. I'll do it. But I'm only doing the one press conference. No more. Got it?”

Leia closed her eyes in relief. "Thank you, Ben."

"Where's Han?" Luke asked.

Leia rolled her eyes, a more pronounced annoyance filling her features. "He and Chewie were off on some wild trip to the mountains. I've contacted him, and he should be on his way back, but this press conference needs to be done now, and I can't wait for him to return to do it."

Rey watched as Kylo and his mother stepped past her and out into the yard to speak to the ravenous reporters on the front lawn.

Luke leaned closer to her to mutter in her ear, “Well, we’re the Skywalker-Solos. Glad you finally got to meet the family.”

* * *

So. Kylo Ren was Ben Solo. 

She had heard the name Ben Solo before; with a senator mother and a movie star father, it would be hard to not recognize the name.

Rey felt entirely numb as she drove home to her apartment. The press conference had taken longer than she had thought, and Luke had finally offered to take her back to the studio to get her car. Seeing as Kylo would be busy for a while longer, she had agreed.

In a way, she had no right to feel betrayed. It was entirely within Kylo’s rights to not tell her about his family or his past. He didn’t owe her anything. And neither had Luke. 

And yet. 

She felt betrayed. These two men, who she had implicitly trusted, hadn’t felt the need to tell her an important truth about them. That they were related to two incredibly famous people. And she’d just never known.

She had thought that Kylo had completely accepted her as a partner and a friend, but perhaps she had been wrong.

She thought about texting him that night, to see if he was doing okay. It couldn't have been easy, to be outed like that without his permission. To have a world of scrutiny he’d probably spent his life escaping dumped back onto him without any warning.

But then she thought about how much of her life he knew about; about her time in foster care, her two grueling jobs, about Maz.

She went to sleep without messaging him.

* * *

She was extremely cautious as she stepped into the studio the next morning. She wasn't quite sure what to expect from him, now that the truth was out. Would he be upset that she knew the truth now? Would he not care? What name should she call him? Admittedly she had always found the name Kylo to be a bit strange, but he must have changed it for a reason.

He was slumped against the wall, his hair looking duller than usual and had dark circles under his eyes. He had his laptop open, and was staring blankly at it, like he wasn't really seeing what was on his screen. At the sound of the door sliding shut, his eyes snapped up to hers.

"Hey," she said cautiously.

"Hi," he croaked.

Rey walked over to him and set her bag down, a little further away from him than she normally did. Once she had stood back up, she nervously crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from him, not knowing what to say.

Kylo finally spoke, haltingly. "I'm sorry about... yesterday."

Rey pursed her lips. "Yesterday...?"

"Yes." He closed his laptop and set it to the side. "About... being rude. When you were just trying to help."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, it's fine, really. You were stressed, I get it."

She wanted to leave it at that. To start practice and forget about all of these... emotions. But she couldn't help herself.

“I just want to know why,” she whispered, turning so she could see him in her periphery. “Why didn’t you tell me about... any of that?” She swallowed thickly. "Anything about... who you really are?"

He couldn’t quite meet her eyes.

"It's... just what I'm used to. I haven't told anyone about... my family in a really long time. So." He shrugged, pressing his fist against his mouth. "It didn't really seem important, I guess."

"It's your life. Of course it's important."

Maybe she shouldn't be admitting this to him; that _he_ was important to her. But she couldn't lie to him about something like this.

He just didn't need to know exactly how much he meant to her.

"You are my friend," she continued, "not just my dance partner. So, yeah, I want to know things about you." She attempted a smile. "Especially when they might come out suddenly and make you appear in headlines."

He chuckled weakly. "Yeah, that's fair." He shook his head ruefully. "Would you like to also know about my acting career, then?"

Rey gaped. "Your _what?"_

Kylo laughed. "Maybe another time."

He stood up to his full height, and held out his hand towards her.

"Ready to practice some more?" he asked ruefully.

Rey hesitated. "I just have one more question."

Kylo heaved a sigh. "What's that?"

She chewed her lip. "Do you... still want to be called Kylo? Or is your real name...?"

He paused. She could see the indecision weighing his features.

"I still want to be called Kylo professionally," he said slowly, "to keep myself separate from my family." His soft eyes met hers. "But if you wanted, you could call me Ben."

Rey felt a rush of warmth down her spine. 

"Okay," she murmured, "Ben."

She liked the way his name sounded.

* * *

While she was glad that she and Kylo - Ben - had made up somewhat, she still felt a bit hurt that he had never told her who he really was, and maybe had never intended to.

But they were just dance partners. Absolutely nothing else. And she needed to focus on their work, not the tangled web of emotion that sat clogged in her chest.

Ben pulled over a chair that had been sitting in the corner of the room so that it stood closer to the center. They were officially moving beyond the low block they’d been working on, and Rey was going to start doing her jumps off of the chair instead.

As she balanced on the chair, she listened attentively to his instructions on how to safely and gracefully leap into his arms.

She fidgited slightly. “I think I’ve got it.” 

“Rey.” His eyes were steady on hers. “You can trust me. I won’t let you fall.” 

_Can I?_

Rey merely nodded. She believed he could catch her, at least.

It didn’t mean she couldn’t wish that it meant more to him than it apparently did. 

Rey took a deep inhale, and then she leapt, making sure to keep her lines as straight as possible as she did so. 

There was a moment of weightlessness, before Ben’s strong arms were around her, and her arms gripped his shoulders as he completed a spin with her in his arms. 

“See, that wasn’t too bad.” Ben smiled crookedly down at her.

Rey tried to smile back at him. “Yeah, I guess it wasn’t.”

* * *

The sun was setting as they finally called it quits for the day. 

Reu was standing by her bag and wiping the sweat from her brow when Ben tentatively approached her.

”Rey,” he began, “Are you... busy, tonight?”

Rey felt her heart rate increase as she raised an eyebrow at him. “I... don’t think so, no. Why?”

He awkwardly shifted from one foot to the other. “I thought, maybe it would be nice to go out for some ice cream, or something.” His voice lowered to a more serious tone. “So that I can... explain some things.”

 _Ah_. Rey agreed to the proposal, trying to tamp down on the flash of disappointment.

She wished she could turn that part of her brain off. For good.

He agreed to follow her in his car, as she knew a pretty decent ice cream parlor nearby, and she led the way in hers, anxiously tapping her wheel the entire way.

When they arrived, they got in line and ordered their treats. Rey got a giant strawberry scoop in a cone, and Ben chose a smaller scoop of cookies and cream in a cup.

They found a quieter table closer to the back.

Rey swiped her tongue thoroughly across her dessert as she watched Ben delicately eat his.

“So,” she started, “Ben Solo, huh?”

He seemed to freeze for a moment, before he regained his composure and resumed his movements. “Yes, that’s me.”

She waitEd expectantly for him to continue.

“My parents,” he started slowly, “and I are not on the greatest of terms. For a lot of reasons. They were always too busy for me growing up. I know they love me, I do, but…” he trailed off. “But they were famous, and fame has a way of consuming the rest of your life, until there’s nothing left but the fame itself.” 

Rey swallowed. 

“And all those things I told you before, about how they didn’t really understand my interests, was true. They didn’t get why I was into these art forms that weren’t as well known, or as profitable, as acting or directing or some shit like that.”

Rey studied the lines of ice cream beginning to melt down her cone. “And the name?”

He shrugged. “It was just away to differentiate myself. Get away from the automatic associations, and know that if I was succeeding, it was all because of me.” He set his jaw. “No one else.”

Rey could definitely understand that urge.

Ben’s face softened as he turned back towards her. “Are you done being mad at me, now?” 

Rey gaped at him. “I was never _mad_ at you, Ben.” 

The use of his real name seemed to still startle him a bit, and he swallowed hard. “You sure about that?”

Rey flushed. “Yes, I am. I just… wish you’d felt like you could tell me, is all.”

“I didn’t want you to think any less of me.”

“I don’t. If anything, I’m more amazed at how you managed to build a life for yourself, all on your own.” She smiled ruefully. “I certainly can appreciate how hard that can be.”

They finished their ice cream in companionable silence, only breaking it when Rey bemoaned the amount of melted ice cream she’d gotten on her hands, and Ben laughed as he found her some napkins to help clean her up.

* * *

_@letsgoreylo: oh my GOD KYLO AND REY ARE EATING ICE CREAM TOGETHER LADKLFJLSKDLASD THIS IS NO A DRILL_

_(a blurry cell phone image of a couple eating ice cream)_

* * *

By the time Sunday night arrived, Rey was pretty sick of the attention the debacle had brought. Kylo had been distracted all week with requests for interviews and paparazzi tails, but despite the distractions they had managed to put together a fairly decent routine that Rey was proud of.

At least for tonight, she could focus on the dance and the dance alone.

The video package made a big deal about Rey’s fears of falling, and was sure to provide ample footage of her ensconced in his arms. Rey shook her head ruefully at the sheer predictability. 

“Dancing contemporary: it’s Kylo Ren and Rey Johnson!”

Rey felt Ben's hand squeeze hers before they strode forward onto the stage.

The early portion of the dance was filled with spins and sweeping gestures, and it wasn't until about thirty seconds in that they reached their first jump. With the spotlight beaming directly down on her, Rey hastily climbed up onto the platform that had been provided for this purpose, her back sweating with both nerves and the heat.

Not giving herself a chance to think, she closed her eyes and clenched her jaw tightly as she leapt off of the ledge, landing firmly into Ben’s solid grip. She felt completely secure as he swung her back to her feet and resumed performing right alongside her.

Her second and final jump went much more smoothly, and she couldn’t stop the grin that split her face as she clung to Ben’s broad shoulders.

This feeling she got when they performed together; it really was just like flying.

They finished the routine with her wrapped around him, so that was looking down at him for a change. Seeing his face from this angle, with the ballroom lights shining down on him, made her stomach clench. He was just _so_ beautiful.

The judges praised their technique and gave them nines across the board. Rey had to sigh with relief; the week had been tough, but at least they had managed to get this part right.

Rey leaned into Ben slightly as they left the stage together.

Without warning, an interviewer approached them before they could move towards the dressing rooms and safety.

"Kylo! Or should I say Ben Solo?" The interviewer flashed a greasy smile at them. "Tell me more about this big identity reveal of yours."

She could feel Ben tense significantly beside her. “That’s not really what I’m here for tonight,” Ben snapped lowly. 

instead of taking the clear hint, the interviewer just laughed, and pulled out a camera to begin filming them. Rey’s hackles rose instantly.

”Come on, _Ben,_ tell me a little bit about how you got into dancing.”

It slowly dawned on Rey that this guy wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

But there was something she could do to take the attention off of Ben Solo.

"I've been making sure to support him through this tough time," she blurted. "He isn't going through this alone, I can promise you that." She slid her arms around his ( _massive_ ) bicep and pressed closer to him.

Ben seemed shocked by her sudden entrance to the conversation, and he shot a befuddled glance down at her.

The man's eyes widened. "Ah yes, of course! Did getting some ice cream raise his spirits, Rey?”

She had no clue how he would have known about that, but she decided that was an issue for a later time.

Rey smiled innocently at him. "Yes, I do believe it did."

The interviewer was practically preening with the "scoop" he was currently acquiring. It took everything in her to keep the fake smile plastered on her face.

"Did you know that your... _partner_ had such famous parents, Rey?" he asked eagerly, making it clear that he wasn’t just talking about a dance partner.

She glanced up at Kylo, who was still looking down at her with an inscrutible expression. "Well," she began, "I've always known he was very special, from the very beginning.”

The interviewer was so beside himself with their apparent gazing that he seemed to forget almost entirely about grilling Ben, and after answering a few more innocuous questions they were able to make an escape.

"Thank you," Ben breathed as they made their way backstage to the quieter corridors.

Rey shrugged, feigning indifference as she released her hold on him. "It's no big deal. They're already talking about us anyway, might as well have them talking about things we want them to talk about."

"That does make sense." His hand, which had migrated onto her back, slid down towards her waist. "Still, you're putting yourself out there to help me. That's no small thing. I appreciate it.” He cheeks turned a bit pink as he admitted, “I appreciate you, Rey.”

Rey bit her lip as she met his eyes. "Well, you're welcome, Ben. I appreciate you, too.”

She missed the warmth of his body close to hers now that it was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Although it isn’t referenced, their contemporary dance is set to "No Tears Left To Cry" by Ariana Grande.


End file.
